Broadland Housing Association

Homes, community & support since 1963

    • homelessness

    Broadland teams up with YMCA Norfolk for Sleep Easy 2022

    UPDATE: 4 April 2022 – the Broadland Housing team slept out on Friday 11 March (pictured below) – employees, friends and supporters raised over £1,700 in sponsorship. In total the YMCA raised £5,500 from the Sleep Out!

    Broadland Housing’s Chief Executive, Michael Newey, will lead a team of employees sleeping rough to raise funds for YMCA Norfolk next month.

    As part of the national YMCA Sleep Easy 2022 campaign, the Broadland team will sleep out on the night of Friday 11 March. Employees will bed down in the car park of the YMCA’s new Community Hub on Aylsham Road in Norwich.

    We are delighted to partner with YMCA Norfolk to help raise much-needed funds to transform the lives of young people in Norfolk. Last year, more than 4,200 people are estimated to have slept rough across England and Wales. We will be sleeping out to raise awareness and funds so that young homeless people in Norfolk can have a safe, secure place to call home.

    Michael Newey, Chief Executive, Broadland Housing Group

    Where and when

    📅 Friday 11 March

    📍 YMCA Norfolk, 61a Aylsham Road, Norwich, NR3 2HF (or host your own

    event!)

    Join the event

    To register & download a participant pack, please visit www.ymcanorfolk.org/sleep-easy-2022/

    Sponsor the Broadland team

    You can donate at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/broadlandhousingsleepeasy2022

    About Sleep Easy 2022

    Each year YMCA Norfolk joins YMCAs from across England and Wales to take part in a mammoth Sleep Easy fundraising event with the aim of raising vital funds to help tackle the root causes of youth homelessness. 

    From 7pm on Friday 11 March to 7am on Saturday 12 March, hundreds of people across the country will be sleeping anywhere but their beds to raise awareness of the thousands of young people who are made homeless each year.

    YMCA Norfolk is calling on the county to join in!  Every night YMCA Norfolk provides a safe home and support for over 260 vulnerable young people in the county. Money raised from the event will go towards delivering much-needed support for residents and vulnerable young people. This year it will help provide homes for homeless young people in Norwich.

    YMCA wants to support young people towards independent living. This means not only providing them with a roof over their head but also somewhere that they’re proud to call home.

    Elm Road, Thetford

    With our partners Breckland Council, we have built 5 new homes offering dedicated support to people who were formerly sleeping rough from across the Breckland district.

    The development includes 4 x 2-storey, 1-bedroom terraced homes and an adjoining bungalow, with a shared garden space.

    Former rough sleepers are supported to transition into longer-term accommodation. Individuals also get help to access education, employment opportunities and healthcare. 

    The homes were developed in the grounds of Elm House, formerly called Elm Road Community Centre. Breckland Council has converted the centre itself into emergency accommodation units. 

    Lakenfields, Webster Court, Norwich

    kitchen at Webster Court, Norwich
    Kitchen of Lakenfields apartment
    Living room, Webster Court, Norwich
    Living area of Lakenfields apartment

    We worked in partnership with Norwich City Council to provide 6 new affordable homes at Lakenfields, Webster Court for people experiencing homelessness. A modular system was used to deliver high-quality homes, with minimal impact and disruption to the local community.

    A former car parking area north of Webster Court now accommodates 6 x 1-bedroom, 2-person flats. The single block of 6 flats over 3 storeys has a communal garden area and vehicle parking accessed off the existing access. The first tenants moved in during December 2021.

    Lakenfields was shortlisted for the national RTPI planning excellence awards in 2022.

    Lakenfields (Webster Court), Norwich, on Day 3 of construction
    Modular construction of Lakenfields apartments was completed in 3 days in December 2021
    Manufacturer Mod Pod International’s video, including pod interiors (1.30)

    Webster Court flats ‘built’ in 3 days!

    Webster Court apartment being craned into position in Norwich
    Webster Court, Norwich, on Day 3 of construction
    Webster Court, Norwich, on Day 3 of construction

    New apartments for people experiencing homelessness in Norwich have been ‘built’ in 3 days at Webster Court.

    The modular apartments were craned into place on site in November, with each storey being ‘built’ in just one day! Watch the timelapse video. The flats were lowered into position with windows, heating systems, kitchens and bathrooms already fitted.

    The new apartment block, on a disused car park next to a housing with care scheme run by St Martin’s Housing Trust, will provide desperately-needed homes for people who are homeless in Norwich.

    Tenancies of 6-24 months will be available, and tenants will be supported to find a long-term solution to their homelessness. The first residents are due to move in before Christmas.

    It’s identified in our Rough Sleeping Strategy that we are in desperate need of homes for people who might be homeless, or who are on the verge of being homeless. It’s so wonderful to see these homes that have grown almost overnight.  What a start for someone who could have their lives changed, and with the proper support, will be able to progress through life in a far better place.

    Councillor Gail Harris, Cabinet Member for Social Housing, Norwich City Council

    We chose a modular construction route because of speed.  We are looking at a very tight site here, so we needed a solution that would minimise disruption and have just three days of actual construction. The fundamental issue we have in the UK, and in Norwich, is that we do not have enough housing.  That is why we have a problem, that is why we have street homelessness, that is why so many vulnerable groups are struggling to find the right accommodation.  That is why it’s so important to be delivering housing.

    Andrew Savage, Executive Development Director, Broadland Housing Association

    The new block has been delivered in partnership with Norwich City Council, who gifted the land. The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities and Homes England supported the construction with funding. Other partners in the project include tenancy support providers St Martin’s Housing Trust and The Magdalene Group; modular supplier modular supplier Modpods International; technical consultants Ingleton Wood, Aecom and Rossi Long; and Munnings Construction.

    We are also grateful to Moving Forward-Norfolk (MF-N). Rob Begley, Founder Member, cleaned the 6 flats ready for the tenants to move in, free of charge. MF-N is a not-for-profit organisation set up in April 2021 to tackle the problems caused by hoarding and self-neglect.

    Samantha England

    Samantha England works as a management consultant. She has many years in leadership and management and has a passion for learning and development.

    Samantha is Chair of the Ethics Committee and Chair of the IAG (Independent Advisory Group) for Norfolk Constabulary.

    She is involved in many community projects and recently set up a community group which won South Norfolk community group of the year. Other voluntary commitments include being a trustee for a local youth club, school governor and trustee for the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre Norfolk.

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