News

Completion of Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Project

A ceremony in Norwich marked the successful completion of a £3.5 million, two-year project aimed at providing much-needed accommodation for the gypsy and traveller community.

The initiative, a collaboration between Broadland Housing Association and Norwich City Council, focused on both new construction and the new refurbishment of existing facilities. This project created 16 new pitches with modern, fully-insulated dayrooms, and refurbished 21 existing pitches, resulting in 15 additional spaces.

Energy Efficiency and Community Support

Significant efforts were made to ensure the accommodations are energy-efficient, with updated insulation and new heating systems. This aligns with our mission to alleviate fuel poverty, particularly within this community. The project also involved close collaboration with the gypsy and traveller community and includes a new scheme manager’s office and enhanced community facilities to foster a stronger sense of safety and belonging.

Partnerships

Michael Newey, Chief Executive of Broadland, emphasised the importance of partnerships in completing the project:

Building partnerships has been the key ingredient in bringing this project to fruition. Without Norwich City Council we would not have been able to do it, and funding from Homes England and the housing Ministry gave us the wherewithal to complete the project.

What we have done here is completely in line with Broadland Housing’s purpose, which is to provide homes for communities of people who can’t afford or who can’t access satisfactory housing.
_{Michael Newey, Chief Executive}

Commitment to Affordable Housing

Cllr Emma Hampton, Deputy Leader of Norwich City Council, expressed her satisfaction with the project:

I am very pleased the Swanton Road site development has been completed. This is part of our strategic commitment to provide affordable housing for our Traveller and Gypsy communities.
_{Cllr Emma Hampton, Norwich City Council}

A Resident’s Perspective

Emily, a resident who has lived at the scheme for 51 years, shared how the improvements have positively impacted her life:

When I first came here, we had to use an outdoor toilet with a wooden door with huge gaps…It was so expensive to heat that we simply couldn’t afford to turn the heating on. I have never had it so good. It is warm and affordable to heat, there is plenty of space for the children to play. I feel like I have got a proper home now.
_{Emily, Resident}

This project stands as a significant achievement in providing inclusive and sustainable housing for the gypsy and traveller community. Broadland Housing Association and Norwich City Council look forward to building on this success to continue supporting those in need of quality, affordable homes.

Thank you to everyone who entered this year’s gardening competition. The judging took place over 2 days with our Environmental Champions, Jane, our tenant Gardening guru, and John, our Horticultural Projects Officer on the judging panel.

It was a busy couple of days visiting tenants’ gardens across the county. There was an array of garden sizes and styles, showing creative use of space and materials. There was a clear theme around biodiversity and wanting to increase wildlife in
their gardens. Some tenants had built bug hotels whilst others had planted shrubs and flowers to attract butterflies and bees.

Gardening Competition: The Results

Judges Choice Overall

Winner: Mark from Dereham

Best Garden

Winner: Claire from Mundesley

Runner up: Pamela from Fakenham

Commendations: Luisa from Lakenheath

Best Small Garden

Winner: Svitlana from King’s Lynn

Runners up: Claire & Judy from Dereham

Commendations: Janet from King’s Lynn

Best Communal Garden

Winner: Robert Kett Court

Best Hanging Baskets

Winner: Sandra from King’s Lynn

Fancy entering next time?

We hold our Gardening Competition annually. Be sure to enter your garden in April 2025. Dates to be announced in our Spring Door to Door and social media pages.

Nineteen new ‘carbon zero’ family homes have been completed in Northrepps after an 18-month project led by Broadland Housing Association.

Key Handover Ceremony

At a ceremony at the site on Broadgate Close, Michael Newey, Chief Executive, and Cllr Wendy Fredericks, Deputy Leader of North Norfolk District Council, handed over the keys to the first tenants, Claire and Robert.

Energy-Efficient Features

These new homes are designed to be highly energy-efficient, featuring insulated timber frames, triple-glazed windows, air source heat pumps, and mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery. Solar panels on the roofs are expected to generate enough electricity to cover the average annual use of each home.

Mixed Tenure Development

This is the first time the association has built net operational carbon homes. Eight of the homes are for affordable rent, two for shared ownership, and nine are being sold on the open market by Broadland Housing’s subsidiary, Broadland St Benedicts, to help fund the affordable homes.

Mr Newey said:

This kind of mixed tenure development, with a blend of affordable homes and open-market homes, is increasingly the way forward, not just because it makes such schemes financially viable, but also because it encourages a better integration within the community.

We also know there is lots of housing need across the whole of Norfolk. We know there is hidden homelessness as well as visible homelessness, and we are completely committed to playing our part in tackling that problem in an ongoing way.
_{Michael Newey, Chief Executive}

Cllr Wendy Fredericks added:

It’s great to see houses being built in North Norfolk, especially affordable homes built for local people. This development is known as an Exception Housing Site, which means it is on land that is not usually permitted for development unless there is a local need for affordable housing.

We would love to see more of these built in North Norfolk. If you have land that could support a small development like this, our housing strategy team love to hear from you.
_{Cllr Wendy Fredericks, North Norfolk District Council}

The 19 new homes were designed by architects Ingleton Wood and built by Norwich-based contractor Smith of Honingham.

We were getting to the stage where it was becoming impossible to squeeze into our old home. Boys and girls of that age shouldn’t have to share a bedroom, and our son needs a quiet space to be calm because of his autism.

The fact that it is so energy efficient means we don’t have to worry about big energy bills, and we know we can stay warm in the winter without worrying about whether we can afford to heat our home.

This area is our home, but it’s now so difficult to find suitable accommodation which is affordable, even though we both work. We now have a lovely family home where we can bring up our family in security.
_{Claire, New Tenant}

Work has started on the construction of 5 new affordable homes for rent in Salthouse, prioritised for locals from the village and nearby areas.

Representatives from Broadland and North Norfolk District Council recently celebrated the start of this project with a sod-cutting ceremony on Purdy Street in the village.

The new development includes three houses and two bungalows designed to be operationally carbon net zero. These homes will have air source heat pumps, treble glazed windows, enhanced insulation and air tightness, along with mechanical ventilation. Solar panels will provide renewable energy, and each home will have its own electric vehicle charging point.

The homes are designed to blend in with the village’s look, featuring lots of flint and in the style of a converted farmyard. The project includes two two-bedroom bungalows, two three-bedroom houses, and one two-bedroom house.

Partnerships Making It Possible

The building of the new affordable homes has been made possible through partnership between Broadland Housing, North Norfolk District Council, and Homes England, as part of a wider package of six Broadland Housing ‘local need exception housing’ schemes across North Norfolk District.

Our Chief Executive, Michael Newey, emphasised the importance of these homes.

Right across North Norfolk, villages are in critical need of affordable housing so that local people can live and work in their local communities. This is a very good example of a scheme which is delivering exactly those kind of homes, designed to fit the local aesthetic of the existing village, and carbon net zero so that the impact on the environment is minimised. We consulted with the local community, which asked us to make use of flint so that the new homes blend into Sathouse’s Conservation Area and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

In the current economic climate it is extremely difficult to deliver new affordable homes, but Broadland remains committed to doing everything we can to build new homes to meet that huge local need.
_{Michael Newey, Chief Executive}

Deputy leader of North Norfolk District Council, Cllr Wendy Fredericks, expressed her excitement about the project.

I am incredibly excited that Broadland Housing Association has taken this opportunity to build affordable affordable homes for those living and working in the area who are in need of safe quality accommodation which is cheap to run and aesthetically pleasing.
_{Cllr Wendy Fredericks, Deputy Leader NNDC}

Cllr Victoria Holliday, the District Councillor for Salthouse, added:

I am thrilled to be able to welcome five new families to our village, and so glad that people who were brought up here will have a chance to return – and who would otherwise not be able to live in Salthouse.
_{Cllr Victoria Holliday, District Councillor}

The new homes are being constructed by Smith of Honingham. Jonathan Smith, the Commercial Director, who said:

We are delighted once again to be working in partnership with Broadland Housing, delivering these much needed homes for local people.
_{Jonathan Smith, Smith of Honingham}