Broadland Housing Association

Homes, community & support since 1963

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    2019 Gardening Competition winners!

    Thank you and well done to everyone who entered our 2019 Gardening Competition. The standard of entries was very high and there were some difficult decisions for our judges! However, the judging panel (including our Environmental Champions and Jane, our tenant gardening guru) finally picked these winners below.

    • Best Garden
    • Best Hanging Baskets & Patio Pots
    • Best Small Garden
    • Best Community Garden
    • Judges’ Commendation Award
    • Best Recycled Garden

    Jane said: “This year the Broadland gardeners surpassed themselves in their enthusiasm! The design, colour and maintenance of all entries was of a very high standard. As always it was a great pleasure to be able to talk to the entrants and see how much effort and care they take to produce such stunning results. Well done to everyone who entered this year”.

    All entrants will receive a certificate and winners and runners up will also receive a Love2shop voucher for their entries.

    We hope their beautiful efforts inspire you this summer, and we look forward to receiving your entries for next year’s competition!

    Raising awareness of self-neglect and hoarding in Norfolk

    Broadland Housing has created a short video to accompany the launch of Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board‘s updated guidance on self-neglect and hoarding.

    Latest guidance on self-neglect and hoardingDownload

    The 3-minute animation summarises the county strategy on self-neglect and hoarding. It is designed to raise awareness among adult safeguarding practitioners and give practical advice on how to report concerns.

    The strategy and the video focus on the importance of collaborative, multi-agency working. The aim is a more preventative approach, and to promote tools such as the Clutter Image Rating Scale and the Self-neglect and Hoarding Assessment Triangle.

    Stephani Davis, Senior Housing Manager, said:

    Broadland is committed to working with Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board and other agencies in Norfolk to proactively deal with safeguarding.

    We hope this short video will support practitioners who have involvement in self-neglect and hoarding in their role by providing useful information in an easily accessible way.

    Rural housing week – investing in Norfolk’s future

    Broadland Housing is celebrating Rural Housing week (1-5 July) with a focus on Norfolk villages, where we are building affordable homes that are helping to create sustainable communities with a positive social impact.

    We are committed to building to ensure that everyone living in a rural area lives in a quality, affordable home. In an area of high second home-ownership, local people are increasingly being priced out of Norfolk and forced to move away from their communities. Our new homes are making a real difference to people’s lives in the county:

    Case study
    New Broadland Housing tenant Gillian was brought up in Trunch but had been living in Paston. Her family have lived in Trunch for more than 40 years, and she works locally as a carer. She is thrilled that her new bungalow backs onto her mother’s house. Broadland has installed a garden gate so that Gillian can visit her mother (who is 80 and lives alone) every day. She is also delighted that for the first time, her severely disabled grandson, who uses a wheelchair, can now visit her at home, thanks to the new bungalow’s level entry and wide doors. Gillian said:

    “It has taken a weight off my shoulders to have Mum so close and I can keep a really close eye on her. I feel less stressed about work because I’m in the village and can get to the people I care for quickly. I have got to know all the neighbours really well already.”

    At our Great Ryburgh scheme, completed last year, 100% of the 5 homes are affordable rent. In April this year, Broadland celebrated the completion of 6 new bungalows at Fuller’s Lane in Trunch, Norfolk – 4 affordable rent and 2 shared ownership. This was the second phase of Broadland’s Trunch development. Phase 1, on Cornish Avenue, was finished in March 2018 and includes 8 affordable rent and 4 shared ownership houses/bungalows.

    We work closely with local councils to ensure that our new rural properties meet real housing need.  Rob Young, North Norfolk District Council’s Head of Economic and Community Development, said:

    “[Trunch] is an excellent example of partnership working between Broadland Housing, the parish council and North Norfolk District Council. It is a sensitively designed development of the highest quality housing, not only helping to meet local housing need but to help sustain a strong community in Trunch.”

    In April 2019, Broadland started building work 12 new affordable homes and 10 open market homes at Edgefield near Holt. Again, priority will be given to local people once the new homes are completed next year. Broadland Housing Executive Development Director Andrew Savage said:


    “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Wellington on giving the local people of Edgefield the opportunity to remain in the village with 9 homes for affordable rental, as well as an opportunity to get on the housing ladder with 3 shared ownership properties”

    The Edgefield homes are being built by Lowestoft-based contractor Wellington, which has a long track record of delivering affordable homes for housing associations and local authorities in the region. The construction project is also creating employment for local people, keeping money in the local economy.

    We work with local architects and builders to ensure the highest standards of design and energy efficiency. Our homes use local building materials such as flint that harmoniously blend with existing architecture. This also helps remove the stigma attached to social housing.

    At every stage of the design and construction process we engage with local communities through consultations with village residents. In the first 2 consultations of 2019, 98 people attended our village hall consultations, where our Development team, architects and local authority staff explained our plans and answered residents’ queries.

    The impact of fuel poverty – new research

    The everyday experiences of Broadland tenants have informed a new scientific paper on ‘Emotions and fuel poverty’.

    The University of East Anglia study emphasises the limits of approaches to fuel poverty that focus on energy efficiency and tariff-switching. Energy vulnerability (EV) research increasingly recognises the importance of subjective experiences. Drawing on the social science of emotions, the UEA team argue that emotions shape and impact on routes in or out of energy vulnerability.

    The study was carried out by the Science, Society and Sustainability (3S) Research Group and Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. Their survey drew on qualitative interviews, exploring the everyday emotional experience of energy vulnerability among Broadland Housing tenants. In total 20 Broadland tenants were interviewed, along with 10 members of our frontline housing team.

    Noel Longhurst, a lecturer in 3S, who was part of the project team, explains:

    The survey shows how fear, worry and care are significant in shaping tenants’ energy use and so can contribute to energy vulnerability.
     
    Emotions can also play a significant role in shaping support for energy-vulnerable households. Embarrassment, stigma, trust and care can both help and hinder efforts to ameliorate fuel poverty.

    Louise Archer, Broadland Executive Property Director, said:

    We are delighted to support this important study, and thank our tenants who shared their experiences with the research team. We are always looking for ways to reduce the impact of fuel poverty among our tenants, from sharing energy-saving tips to installing solar panels and the latest smart energy meters.

    The UEA study calls for a greater focus on the everyday experiences of fuel poverty to balance out the technical understandings that currently dominate policy.

    Broadland has GOLD status in the Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow (SHIFT) Awards. Following our success in 2016, in 2018 we are the highest scoring social landlord. This achievement reflects the work and care we put into the sustainability of our homes and the change we have implemented across the business.

    Broadland to manage new scheme for adults with learning disability

    We are delighted to announce that we have now taken responsibility for managing Netherwood Green in Norwich.   

    Netherwood Green is a scheme for 12 adults with learning disability who are being supported to achieve independence. These are much-needed homes for a client group who are often overlooked in terms of quality accommodation provision.

    Broadland has signed a 10-year lease with Norfolk County Council to manage the buildings and provide housing management services. Voyage Care will provide 24/7 support on site.

    Netherwood Green is situated in a landscaped area near Norwich city centre. It comprises 1 x 4-bedroom house and 8 individual flats. Voyage Care will support tenants towards independent living, helping them to gain practical skills in wellbeing, finance etc.

    All the Netherwood tenants have previously lived at home or in residential care. They began moving into their new homes in May 2019. We will be following up on their experience of living at Netherwood. Watch this space!

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