Broadland Housing Group
Homes, community & support since 1963
From 1 August 2017 we will be changing the opening hours of our King’s Lynn and Dereham Area Offices, after reviewing visitor numbers:
See full details of opening hours at all our Area Offices. For any queries, please contact Katie.Docherty@broadlandgroup.org
Broadland Housing has acted swiftly to ensure the safety of tenants, following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Following testing by the Building Research Establishment on Friday 23 June, a sample of cladding from Broadland Housing’s Brennan Bank on Geoffrey Watling Way was found to be a current cause for concern in high-rise buildings, although it compares with building regulations and has been used in accordance with the approved plans.
Although Broadland Housing only has medium-rise properties (of six storeys or fewer), it immediately called an review meeting. This was held at its offices today (Saturday 24 June) with representatives from Broadland Housing, Norwich City Council, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, developer Taylor Wimpey and managing agents of the adjacent blocks.
The review meeting today discussed the safety implications of the cladding and reviewed the fire risk assessments for all the blocks in question.
The review concluded that the risks posed by the cladding can be mitigated by remedial action in the short term. A letter has been delivered to residents of the affected blocks today, informing them that:
Developer Taylor Wimpey has given the same advice to residents of its private apartments in neighbouring buildings, which are of the same construction.
“Although we don’t have any high-rise properties, only medium-rise, we wanted to put additional measures in place to reassure our tenants,” explained Louise Archer, Executive Property Director, Broadland Housing.
James Belcher, Head of Planning at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We have been providing advice to Broadland Housing Association, Taylor Wimpey and the managing agents of adjacent blocks, and having reviewed their fire risk assessments, have agreed how the risk of a fire starting in these buildings could be reduced even further.
“We are confident in the additional measures that will be put in place to help keep residents safe. As an additional precaution, we have also made sure that in the event of a fire at these buildings, we would be able to respond with extra fire engines. I understand residents may still have concerns so fire service officers have have been going door to door in these buildings today giving advice and reassurance, answering questions and leaving contact details in case anyone wants to book a home fire risk check.”
Broadland Housing complied with a request from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for all councils and housing associations to submit information about any buildings of six storeys and above that they own or manage.
Any organisations that reported that they had cladding of any kind on their buildings were subsequently asked to submit a sample to the Building Research Establishment. Broadland Housing complied with that request, and late on Friday 23 June, it was informed by the DCLG that the cladding which had been tested on Brennan Bank was a current cause for concern.
The review meeting today held at the offices of Broadland Housing took these findings seriously and acted swiftly, following the guidance of the DCLG.
Watch Group Chief Executive Michael Newey being interviewed on Norfolk Now TV report (26 June)
We’ll be starting construction work on our Highfield Close development in Great Ryburgh, Norfolk, at the end of this month [May 2017].
The scheme consists of 5 homes – a bungalow and 4 houses – 
all for affordable rent. It will be known as Housden Court (see artist’s impression, left, and site plan below). The homes are due to be completed in January 2018.
We’ve appointed H Smith & Sons of Honingham, a long-established family-run company, as our main contractor. 
For any queries or concerns once the construction is underway, please call Carole Grimes, Development Administrator, Broadland Housing, on 01603 750115.
Building work on Phase 2 of our Hall Close development at Bodham, Norfolk will start in June 2017.
The scheme of 16 properties includes a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership homes, supported by some open market homes (see architect’s image right and site plan below).
The first Phase 2 properties are due to be completed in February, with the remainder in June 2018. Phase 1 of the Bodham scheme, consisting of 10 homes, was completed in February 2008.
“Construction of Phase 2 has been delayed until now because we’ve had to find a new way to fund affordable housing to replace Government grant funding. However, we’re now able to proceed with this stunning new scheme,” explained Ed Mumford-Smith, Head of Development.
Broadland has appointed John Youngs, a Norwich-based subsidiary of RG Carter Group, as the main contractor, and they are writing to existing Hall Close residents about the forthcoming works. For any queries once construction is underway, please contact Carole Grimes, Development Administrator, Broadland Housing, on 01603 750115.
To register your interest for a private or shared ownership home on this development, please contact our sole selling agents,
William H Brown in Holt; tel. 01263 713343
We are delighted to announce 4 new appointments to our Board (May 2017).
Chris Ewbank is the Chief Financial Officer/Senior Bursar of St John’s College, Cambridge, responsible for the college’s £525 million endowment, human resources, strategic planning, governance, regulatory compliance and fundraising. Before joining St John’s in 2005, Chris was Chief Operating Officer of Rothschild’s Asian Investment banking in Hong Kong, having joined Rothschild in 2000. Previously, he was an investment banker for Schroders in London, Singapore and New York. Chris qualified as a solicitor in 1988 and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Samantha England is a Health and Social Care Assessor for NVQs at Babington Business College, Derby. She has spent most of her career in the field of health and social care, including roles as Service Manager for Leaf Care Services and Training Adviser for the YMCA. She is a member of her local Patient and Participant Group (PPG) and the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) for Norfolk Constabulary.
Simon Hibberd worked as GP in Norfolk for almost 30 years, retiring earlier this year. As Senior Partner of his practice, Simon championed collaborative working across local health and social services; established the innovative social enterprise Breckland Care at Home, which provides almost 700 hours of personal care each week; and worked closely with the South Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group.
Siobhan Trice is the Business Officer for a local ecological consultancy, responsible for the organisation’s general office management and financial reporting. She was previously Business Development Manager for Loddon Equestrian and Adnams plc. She has also worked as a Distillery Tour Guide and Contact Centre Coordinator for Adnams.
Siobhan Trice and Samantha England join as tenant board members, while Chris Ewbank and Dr Simon Hibberd join as independents.
All four new Board member have been co-opted onto the Board and will face formal election by our shareholders at the AGM in September 2017. Subject to election, Chris Ewbank will succeed Jenny Manser as Chair in the autumn. Jenny has been interim Chair since last summer, when Alison Inman, who was elected Chair in 2015, had to resign from the Board due to ill health. Jenny is planning to retire from the Board at the 2017 AGM after 9 years of service to the Group.
Michael Newey, Group Chief Executive, commented:
“Our 4 new Board members bring diverse skills and experience that will further strengthen our governance and strategic planning. Siobhan and Sam will help us maintain our emphasis on ensuring that our services are fit for purpose for our residents; Simon will strengthen our focus on joining up housing with health and social care; while Chris not only brings his considerable chairing skills, but also his understanding and experience of funding markets at a time when we know we have to raise more debt to meet our ambition to grow our housing stock by 3% per annum. The Board and executive are looking forward to working with all four new members over the years ahead.”
For more information please contact:
Paula Strachan 01603 750 283 Mobile: 07880 196830 paula.strachan@broadlandgroup.org