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A huge thank you to Broadland’s partners, contractors and Development team staff. They have donated more than £3,000 to buy Christmas gifts for children and families living in temporary accommodation in King’s Lynn.

Their generous donations paid for Christmas presents and Christmas lunch for 47 families and 53 children living at our St James Lodge scheme, who would have struggled otherwise.

A total of £3,101.48 was raised by 25 corporate and personal donors. Broadland staff did the Christmas shopping and Sarah Nicholl, Neighbourhood Officer, and Katie Sutton, Local Area Advisor, dressed up as Santa’s elves to deliver the parcels!

We are very grateful to our generous contractors, partners, and of course, our amazing staff, who made this Christmas treat possible. It is really tough for families to celebrate when they don’t have their own home, and we are so glad we’ve been able to bring a little festive cheer this year.

Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director

Our corporate donors included:

• Abode Construction
• C&S Cleaners
• EAM Dev Ltd
• Ingleton Wood
• Lovell Partnership
• Norfolk Homes
• RG Carter
• Rossi Long
• RU Associates
• Wellington Construction

Broadland Housing Association’s affordable housing strategy in north Norfolk has won a coveted Planning Excellence Award from the RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute).

Broadland’s North Norfolk District Wide Affordable Housing Strategy was the regional winner in the RTPI’s virtual awards ceremony in November.

The award recognises the ingenuity of Broadland’s strategy, which identified an opportunity from changes to national policy. Five mixed tenure schemes – in Binham, Trunch, Erpingham, Edgefield and Great Ryburgh – are linked by one Section 106 Agreement. The sale of market homes has subsidised the delivery of 61 affordable homes.

Meeting an acute housing need

Broadland’s award-winning strategy is helping to meet the acute shortage of affordable housing in north Norfolk. Working closely with partners at North Norfolk District Council and local parish councils, Broadland is creating vibrant, sustainable rural communities.

Chair of the RTPI judges’ panel, David Potter, said:

We were very impressed with this novel and very successful approach to tackling the difficult and urgent problem of providing affordable housing in rural areas. The judges concluded this careful management and collaborative working arrangement should be commended.

Andrew Savage, Broadland’s Executive Development Director, said:

As a local housing association, we are incredibly proud to have won this award from the RTPI. Through our strategy, people with family or employment connections in north Norfolk have been able rent or buy high quality, well designed, affordable homes in places which otherwise they would have been priced out of. We are deeply grateful for our partnership work with North Norfolk District Council without whose enthusiasm and diligence we would not have been to proceed.

These new homes showcase mixed-tenure schemes in a community setting. We are truly proud of the communities that have been created, partly due to the holistic approach in design and planning. We want to thank our partners – Bidwell’s, Ingleton Wood, Hudson’s, Rossi Long, RG Carter, Wellington Construction and H Smith Honingham – without whose help we would not have been able to deliver these amazing new homes in rural Norfolk.

Greg Hayman, North Norfolk District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and Benefits, said:

I congratulate the team at Broadland Housing on their award for this well deserved scheme and would like to also thank the team here at NNDC whose collaborative approach helped shape the outcome. It is vital that affordable housing should be of a quality that make the residents and community feel proud. It’s also vital that villages continue to thrive with sustainable populations.

Mixed, inclusive rural communities

Broadland and its architect partners Ingleton Wood and Hudson created a range of house designs designed to complement the local rural landscape. The homes have been traditionally constructed by local builders, supporting a longer life cycle, and use authentic local building materials, such as flint. 

The quality of the scheme planning has helped to instil a strong sense of pride and community from the outset. It has also encouraged mixed, inclusive communities. There is no visible difference between the social rent and open market homes, reducing the stigma often associated with affordable housing.

For more information on Broadland’s approach to planning and design, see https://www.broadlandgroup.org/our-design-approach/

During National Apprenticeship Week, 3-7 February, we are celebrating the achievements of our amazing apprentices.

A good proportion of our apprentices go on to secure permanent roles at Broadland. James Godfrey, Head of HR Services, explains how apprenticeships also benefit us as an employer:

Apprenticeships introduce us to some amazing people of all ages, allowing us to develop them into well-skilled and motivated colleagues who bring a new dimension to our workforce.  In fact, we’re one of the top 100 not-for-profit organisations in the Best Companies Survey, which is an independent survey completed by employees.

Offering quality apprenticeships has allowed us to attract really high-calibre raw talent into a sector where there is a recognised skills shortage, and to develop skills which are directly relevant to our needs as an employer.  It’s a real win:win.

Broadland’s apprenticeship scheme welcomes trainees in a wide range of disciplines, including office-based roles such as business admin and customer service; trades such as plumbing, gas and electrical; and multi-disciplinary apprenticeships taking in a range of departments including HR, finance, housing, property management and facilities.