Broadland Housing Association

Homes, community & support since 1963

    • News

    New partnership will develop housing for rough sleepers in Breckland

    Five new properties, which will offer dedicated support to rough sleepers, will be built in Breckland, thanks to a new partnership between Breckland Council and Broadland Housing.

    New homes

    The new homes will be completed later this year in Thetford. Former rough sleepers from across Breckland will be supported to transition into longer-term accommodation. Individuals will also get help to access education, employment opportunities and healthcare. 

    The development includes 4 x 2-storey, 1-bedroom terraced homes and an adjoining bungalow, with a shared garden space. The homes are being developed in the grounds of Elm House, formerly called Elm Road Community Centre. Breckland Council is currently converting the centre itself into emergency accommodation units. The new development includes car parking spaces, ensuring easy access for residents and support staff.

    Funding

    The £926,000 project is being funded by Broadland Housing and Breckland Council, following a successful grant for £245,000 from Homes England. The project is part of Breckland Council’s new corporate plan and Inspiring Communities programme, aimed at enhancing the lives of Breckland residents through strategic partnerships and early intervention services.

    We are once again delighted to be working with Breckland Council on this important project. More homes are needed for the rough sleepers of Breckland Council, and Broadland welcomes the opportunity to contribute to providing much needed homes for homeless people in Norfolk.

    Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director for Broadland Housing

    Breckland Council is committed to tackling the causes of homelessness and supporting rough sleepers. These new units will assist some of the most vulnerable members of our community, enabling them to stay safe, access support and develop the skills needed to live independently.

    Cllr Paul Claussen, Deputy Leader, Breckland District Council, and Councillor Alison Webb, Executive Member for Housing, Health & Communities

    Broadland secures £15 million for new affordable homes through sustainable bonds

    Working with MORhomes, Broadland has raised funding for new development through the issuance of £15 million of sustainable bonds.

    A sustainable business

    To be eligible for this funding, we had to demonstrate that we are a sustainable business and fulfil certain environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.

    We will use the proceeds generated from the bond issuance to fund new affordable homes.

    Competitively priced, long-term funding

    MORhomes is 100% owned and controlled by housing associations. It is constituted as a PLC and applies the highest standards of corporate governance. MORhomes is a unique and innovative borrowing vehicle for the UK social housing sector, raising finance on the bond markets and lending it on to housing associations, who must be shareholders.

    At Broadland we are focused on sustainability across all parts of our organisation. Our involvement with MORhomes and their Sustainability Bond has provided us with an opportunity to demonstrate our ESG credentials and obtain competitively priced, long-term funding that will allow us to develop new affordable homes.

    Iain Grieve, Executive Finance Director, Broadland Housing

    We are proud to have developed a genuinely unique approach to assessing the sustainability impact of our housing association borrowers. Borrowers like Broadland Housing who meet our standards are going above and beyond current requirements and helping meet the Government’s zero carbon target and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are pleased to be able to demonstrate to investors the excellent sustainability work which they are doing.

    Patrick Symington, Chief Executive, MORhomes

    It was a pleasure to work with Broadland and MORhomes to deliver this successful and competitively priced long-term funding. This financing will enable Broadland to continue to deliver its development programme and meet the needs of its customers.

    Lawrence Gill, Director Corporate Finance, Centrus – advisors to Broadland

    For more details about the sustainable bonds issuance, please see the MORhomes’ announcement.

    MORhomes plc logo

    Tenants can now get training in independent living skills

    Independent East / Your Own Place / Broadland Housing logos

    Broadland Housing tenants can benefit from tenancy and independent living skills training – thanks to our membership of Independent East.

    Your Own Place CIC successfully delivered its Tenancy and Independent Living Skills (TILS+) workshops to Saffron Housing Trust tenants last year. These engaging, practical workshops are now being offered to tenants of Broadland, Freebridge and Orwell housing associations, through their membership of Independent East.

    From January 2022, Your Own Place, a social enterprise based in East Anglia, will deliver the workshops to tenants at locations across Norfolk and Suffolk. The workshops, a mix of digital and face-to-face sessions, provide opportunities for people of all ages to develop and build on existing skills. A wide range of topics is covered, including saving and budgeting, self-care and wellbeing, and digital skills. The aim is to make a positive difference to tenants’ lives through developing their confidence and resilience.

    Helping more people into employment

    The partnership with Your Own Place is an exciting collaboration for Independent East. The new initiative aims to help more people into employment, reducing rent arrears and potential future evictions.

    Helping people to sustain their tenancies is a central part of what Broadland do. We are thrilled to be part of this partnership with Independent East and Your Own Place to invest in more support and training for many more people.

    Catherine Little, Executive Housing Director, Broadland Housing Association

    We’re absolutely delighted to be working not just with the residents of 4 regional housing associations, but with 4 housing associations that want to collaborate, support residents from across East Anglia and recognise that our Tenancy & Independent Living Skills Plus (TILS+) are beneficial for any person in any situation. Their compassion and understanding that having an impact on lives goes way beyond just being their landlord is why we want to work with them and be a part of building on the skills that tenants already have. We know that the residents we work with are experts in their own lives, we respect their experiences and contributions and love the two-way learning. Fun, participative and engaging workshops will be delivered with 400 tenants during 2022 across 8 different locations – with the aim of building the skills to be happy in their homes and ultimately prevent homelessness.

    Rebecca White, CEO, Your Own Place

    We have been really pleased with how well the workshops have been received by Saffron’s tenants and it’s fantastic that it’s now going to be delivered by Independent East to help even more tenants across the region. Not only is it a great opportunity for them to learn new skills, but it provides scope for tenants to meet those from other housing associations, share their experiences, support one another and help create cohesive communities.

    Paula Tuck, Assistant Director of Customer Services at Saffron and member of the Independent East Residents Group

    Watch a video of Chantay, one of Saffron’s tenants, talking about her experience of the TILS+ workshops (credit: Your Own Place).

    Supporting #Flourish for inclusivity

    Supporting #Flourish for inclusivity

    Broadland is supporting #Flourish, a new campaign by Independent East to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplaces and communities. Independent East is an informal alliance of 5 community-focused housing associations in the East of England.

    #Flourish logo - the Independent East campaign to promote equality, diversity and inclusivity

    #Flourish is designed to raise awareness of inclusivity and create an environment where everyone can be themselves, grow and flourish. The campaign is based on the idea that just as every plant needs a different environment, treatment and conditions to thrive, so do we as individuals.

    Over the coming months, Independent East members will work collaboratively to raise awareness about the importance of inclusion through surveys, training and events. Each organisation will also commit to scrutinise their internal processes to see how they could be improved.

    We are very excited to be part of this initiative with Independent East, growing our already strong programme of EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] activities. Our strong commitment reflects that of the other members of Independent East and we look forward to working together to bring even more opportunities to our staff team.

    Michael Newey, Chief Executive, Broadland Housing Association

    We are all really passionate about this work. We want our workplaces and our communities to be totally inclusive places, that accept everyone for who they are with no judgement and provide an environment where they can be free to be who they want to. We know that there are so many benefits to having a happy workforce, so why wouldn’t you put in place the things needed to enable that to happen?”

    Catherine Hodds, Director of People & Culture at Saffron

    We spend so much of our adult lives at work; it seems contradictory that many people are worried about being themselves when they are there. While it’s important to remain professional, employees that feel comfortable being themselves are likely to be happier and more productive. This, in turn, influences the service that we can provide to our customers and the experience they will have when they interact with us.

    By working in partnership with our Independent East partners, we hope this campaign will have a positive effect on all our customers across the East of England.

    Wendy Evans-Hendrick, Chief Executive, Orwell Housing Association

    4 new affordable homes at Clenchwarton, near King’s Lynn

    We are pleased to announce 4 new affordable homes at Clenchwarton, near King’s Lynn in west Norfolk, acquired from Trundley Properties.

    The 2 x 2-bedroom and 2 x 3-bedroom semi-detached houses are a mix of shared ownership and affordable rent. They are part of a new development of 18 homes at Laurel Farm Meadow by Trundley Properties and Buildwise.

    Andrew Savage (Executive Development Director, Broadland Housing Association) with Ben Trundley (Construction Manager, Trundley Properties Ltd) at Clenchwarton, west Norfolk
    Andrew Savage with Ben Trundley (right)

    We are delighted with the progress made on this development, despite the challenges of the restrictions we have been subject to over the past 2 years. The development includes a social housing element and we are pleased to have identified Broadland Housing as the social housing provider on this scheme. We very much hope we can work with them again in the future.

    Ben Trundley, Construction Manager, Trundley Properties Ltd

    This is the first time we have worked with Trundley Properties and we are very pleased with the outcome. We have been able to acquire some very well built, energy-efficient homes to increase the choice of affordable housing in this area of the county.

    Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director, Broadland Housing Association
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