News

We’re proud to be one of the housing associations* involved in Benefit to Society.

This innovative campaign is producing a guide for journalists on how to avoid stereotyping of social housing tenants.

So far the campaign has collected the views of more than 450 tenants on negative stereotyping in the media. Read more about the campaign here.

Our tenants Richard and Mo recently joined 20+ other social housing tenants (see picture) to discuss the survey results and help put together the shape of the guide, which is being written by Rachel Broady from the National Union of Journalists.

The guide encourages the media to look at the facts about who lives in social housing (70% are working or retired; 23% are unable to work due to disability or caring responsibilities, according to the most recent English Housing Survey), and to look for the real stories, not rely on lazy stereotypes.

Richard and Mo and the rest of the tenant editorial group believe that social housing is a step up, not something that holds you back: having somewhere decent and affordable to live lets you get on with the rest of your life.

The guide will be launched the week before Housing Day in September 2017. 

 

*The Benefit to Society Campaign is sponsored and supported by:

• Bolton at Home
• Broadland Housing Association
• Homes in Sedgemoor
• Optivo
• Progress Housing Group
• Red Kite Community Housing
• Rochdale Boroughwide Housing
• Soha Housing
• South Yorkshire Housing Association
• Town & Country Housing Group
• Wythenshawe Community Housing Group
• Tpas
• Association of Retained Council Housing
• National Federation of ALMOs

Anthony Collins Solicitors are also supporting the guide.

 

 

 

We’re hosting a day of ‘Good to be GREEN’ fun on Sunday 20 August at our environmental award-winning Sorrel and Campion House scheme in Humbleyard, Bowthorpe, Norwich.

From 12-4pm, tenants, friends, family and the local community are warmly invited to enjoy a fun-packed programme of eco-activities for all ages, including:

• bee hotel and bird-feeder workshops
• eco treasure hunt
• wormery and composting corner
• wellbeing and mindfulness sessions

We’ll also be offering refreshments, garden games, tombola, face painting, music and more!

If you’d like to volunteer to help on the day, please call Sally on 01603 750259.

 

 

 

With a new communal garden in the pipeline, York Place tenants were buzzing with landscaping ideas last week.

The sheltered housing scheme in Dereham is being expanded to include 6 flats and 2 bungalows, with a new garden area being built on the old bowling green.

Meeting tenants last week at York Place, Ed Mumford-Smith, Head of Planning, and local landscape designer Chris Yardley explained the plans and invited their ideas for the garden design.

Tenants considered different plants for colour, scent and ‘bee-friendliness’. They also looked at design features such as planters accessible to tenants in wheelchairs, bird feeders and a pergola.

The tenants’ top 3 priorities were:

• easy access to the garden for wheelchair users or those with limited mobility
• plenty of seating to ensure shade from direct sun at different times of day
• year-round colour

“I always start a garden design with an idea of what I’d like to see, with lots of variety, different textures, colour all year round, the buzzing of insects, birds flying in, but a garden that looks cohesive overall. It was really interesting to get tenants’ feedback today. I’ll now go away and incorporate their suggestions as far as possible”

Chris Yardley, landscape designer

Draft designs for the new garden are due to be presented to residents in October, and planting will take place in the spring.

Photos by Keiron Tovell: Tenants sharing ideas for the new garden; Ed Mumford-Smith and Chris Yardley on the site of the new York Place garden, with Neil Footer of Estate Services

 

Guests celebrating the start of building work at Broadland Housing’s new scheme at Trunch today [5 July 2017] got a high-tech preview of how it will look when it’s finished – and the future of the construction industry. 

The Cornish Avenue scheme comprises 12 affordable homes: a mix of 3-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 1-bedroom houses, plus a 1-bedroom bungalow. The scheme design reflects traditional rural settlements in north Norfolk, with houses grouped informally and a green open space overlooking rural scenery beyond.

Broadland Development Services will be carrying out the work, in association with architects Ingleton Wood and builders John Youngs. The scheme will be completed in 2018.

Partnership working

Around 30 guests attended the turf-turning event, including representatives from North Norfolk District Council, the parish council, Ingleton Wood, John Youngs and Broadland board members.

Michael Newey, Group Chief Executive, Broadland Housing, said:

“Affordable housing is vital for the survival of our rural communities and services. This innovative new scheme offers a lifeline to local people, making it possible for them to live near their families, friends and places of work.”

Cllr Richard Price, North Norfolk District Council’s portfolio holder for housing, said:

“It’s especially fitting that we celebrate the start of works to build these new homes in Rural Housing Week. This housing scheme will deliver vital new affordable homes to meet the local housing need of Trunch and the adjoining parishes of Gimingham, Knapton, Mundesley, Southrepps and Swafield.”

High-tech 3D panoramas

Visitors accessed stunning 3D panoramas of the new affordable housing scheme using a world-first Google Tango prototype device. They could also ‘view’ individual properties by scanning QR codes on posts dotted around the site, and try on smart glasses to view a sample instructional video for construction workers.

Ed Godden, Scheme Architect, Ingleton Wood, and Project Manager for the ACCEPT project, explained how the European Horizon 2020-funded project will improve overall quality and knowledge transfer on construction sites. Broadland Housing sites will pilot the ACCEPT technology in real-life applications and provide valuable feedback, starting with Trunch. He said:

“Communication is a critical part of the construction process. For centuries, architects, contractors and craftsmen have relied on paper drawings and site meetings, but the ACCEPT project is now working with people across the industry to bring the industry into the 21^st century. Smartphones, tablets and wearable technologies like smart glasses will make it easier than ever for site workers to access design information. The effects will be significant – higher quality and more energy-efficient buildings.”

James Phillips, General Manager of John Youngs, said:

“Building relationships and working collaboratively with Broadland Housing and the design team will provide the best opportunity to deliver this project to the quality and standard it deserves. The design from Ingleton Wood is both innovative and sympathetic to its surroundings – it has been great to see the ACCEPT 3D technology in action at the turf-turning today and it will be an added benefit during the building process. We look forward to working in north Norfolk and contributing towards the local community in Trunch.”

The event at Trunch marks the start of the Broadland Housing Group and North Norfolk District Council’s collaborative partnership to develop 106 new homes. Known as the mixed housing scheme, this initiative will deliver six sites on land provided by North Norfolk District Council, Broadland Housing Group and purchased from third parties.

Site photos: David Kirkham
Simulation pic: Ingleton Wood