News

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

Best Small Garden

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}

We marked the 20th Anniversary of one of our Housing with Care schemes in Norwich with a heart-warming celebration! The scheme provides 40 residents with care and support as they live in their own self-contained flats. It was opened by former Norwich City goalkeeper, Bryan Gunn in 2004.

The honour of cutting the cake fell to one of the newest residents at the scheme, who laid the first brick when it was being built. She moved in just ten days before the celebration which added an extra sprinkle of nostalgia to the event. This was alongside Chief Executive, Michael Newey and Norse Care team leader, Joanne Grimes who joined us in celebrating the anniversary. The resident said:

Although I have only just moved in, I think it’s really lovely. There is a real sense of community here, the staff are lovely, and it’s very friendly.
_{Resident at scheme}

Residents of the scheme came together to create a time capsule that will be buried in the grounds. They contributed items such as photos, documents and even a set of false teeth being interred for future generations to find!

Michael Newey acknowledged the scheme’s role in reflecting our ongoing commitment to providing exceptional living experiences for our residents.

This scheme represented a significant investment for Broadland two decades ago, and it is a real pleasure every time I come back here and see how ‘at home’ everyone feels.
_{Michael Newey, Chief Executive}

As one of eight similar schemes under the Broadland Housing umbrella in Norfolk, we are proud to continue enriching lives and building communities that feel like home.