News

We’re delighted to have reached the finals of the SHIFT Awards 2017.

The annual SHIFT awards, organised by Sustainable Homes, recognise outstanding sustainability projects and achievements in the housing sector.

In 2016 Broadland was accredited with the SHIFT Gold Standard, after progressing from highly commended in the first year of taking part, through Bronze and Silver SHIFT awards.

This year, we are finalists in three award categories: Best sustainability team, Sustainable housing provider of the year and Most improved ever SHIFT landlord.

“This is excellent news and reflects the hard work we’ve put into improving our sustainability performance over the past 12 months. We’re hopeful of reaching Platinum Standard in due course, but we know how difficult this is, with no housing associations achieving it last year,” said Louise Archer, Executive Property Director.

Bevan Jones, Managing Director of Sustainable Homes, said of this year’s SHIFT Awards finalists: “We are extremely pleased with the calibre and range of the entries this year. The judges have an incredibly tough job to select the winners. It’s great to see that sustainability still has a central place in the sector and beyond, and all the finalists should be proud of their achievements.”

All category winners will be announced on 30 November* at the SHIFT Awards 2017 ceremony at Plaisterers’ Hall, London, attended by over 250 leading sustainability and housing professionals and key decision makers.

Achieving SHIFT accreditation is evidence that an organisation is not only committed to improving sustainability but is backing its words with action. SHIFT drives change by providing organisations with recommendations for improvement and comparing their performance against their peers. SHIFT helps organisations improve the quality of life for their residents and staff through higher quality homes and offices.

 

*UPDATE: Broadland Housing was awarded joint ‘Highly Commended’ for most improved ever SHIFT landlord category 2017. Read the full results here

 

Tenants and friends enjoyed a sunny day of eco-fun at our Sorrel and Campion House scheme in Norwich this weekend. Even the youngest visitors had a go at building a birdfeeder from recycled plastic bottles or exploring nature on the crafts table. And with tombola, facepainting, composting workshops, energy-saving tips and freebies, nature photography, yoga, picnic lunch and garden games, there was something for everyone!

Many thanks to our tenant Mark Leggett for his photographs.

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