Broadland Housing Group

Homes, community & support since 1963

social housing

Work starts on 18 new family homes at Great Hockham, Norfolk

  • Jonathan Smith, of Smiths of Honingham, with Broadland Housing Association Chief Executive Michael Newey
Left: David Childerhouse (Parish Cllr), Andrew Savage (Executive Development Director), Ben Campbell (Parish Cllr), Tom Bennett (Parish Cllr), Cllr Philip Cowen (Breckland), Michael Newey (Chief Executive, Broadland Housing Association). Right: Jonathan Smith, of Smiths of Honingham, with Michael Newey,

Broadland Housing has started work on 18 new family homes in Great Hockham. The scheme will include 8 affordable rent homes, prioritised for people with a local connection who are in housing need. There will also be 2 homes for shared ownership and 8 new open market homes. 

Councillor Philip Cowen of Breckland Council and representatives from Great Hockham Parish Council, which has supported the project, were joined by Broadland staff and contractors at the sod-turning ceremony.

The £4.2 million project on Wretham Road in the village is due to be completed in February 2023.

We are delighted to be here in Great Hockham celebrating the start of construction of 18 much-needed new homes.

We are meeting a genuine need for housing in rural village communities, which will enable local people to find homes in those communities and thus stay close to their support networks and places of employment, and make villages such as Great Hockham more sustainable.

This kind  of mixed-tenure development, with a blend of affordable homes and open-market homes, is increasingly the way forward, both because it makes such schemes financially viable, but also because it encourages a better integration within the community.

Michael Newey, Chief Executive of Broadland Housing, speaking at the ceremony

Rural communities in Breckland desperately need new housing. 

Our own housing needs survey showed that providing new homes, including affordable homes, in Great Hockham will help the village become a community hub for the surrounding villages.  This is an ‘exceptions site’ outside the current village boundaries, and as such the affordable homes will be prioritised for those with a local connection, which is important.

The way Broadland Housing has brought this project forward has been refreshing.  They brought a real level of expertise in building local communities, they communicated and listened to local people, and they have been great to work with.”

Councillor Cowen, portfolio holder for finance, revenues and benefits / local ward councillor for Great Hockham

The 18 new homes have been designed by architects Ingleton Wood, and are being constructed by contractor Smiths of Honingham.  We are grateful to Mr Trappes-Lomax, the Hockham Estate owner, for insisting on a project which will supply much needed affordable housing in the village.

We are delighted to once again be Broadland’s partner in bringing to life these new homes”

Jonathan Smith, Director, Smiths of Honingham

Celebration at Canary Quay honours social housing champions

Broadland Housing has celebrated naming apartment blocks at Canary Quay, Norwich, after Baroness Patricia Hollis and Richard Hawthorn, both passionate supporters of social housing.

  • Naming ceremony, Patricia Hollis House and Richard Hawthorn House, Canary Quay, Norwich
  • Naming ceremony for Patricia Hollis House and Richard Hawthorne House, Canary Quay, Norwich
  • Tenants at Canary Quay, naming ceremony for Patricia Hollis House and Richard Hawthorn House, Norwich
  • Naming ceremony for Patricia Hollis House and Richard Hawthorne House, Canary Quay, Norwich
  • Naming ceremony for Patricia Hollis House and Richard Hawthorne House, Canary Quay, Norwich

Speakers Lord Alan Howarth and MP Clive Lewis joined Canary Quay tenants at the naming ceremony, which was held on the site at Geoffrey Watling Way, Norwich. The development of over 300 new homes on the riverside is a partnership between Broadland Housing and R G Carter.

‘Somewhere to call home’

Baroness Hollis, who died in 2018, was chair of Broadland Housing Association from 2009 until 2015, at the time when the vision for Canary Quay was created.  Richard Hawthorn was a tenant Board member of the housing association from 2010 until his death in 2017.

Welcoming guests to the celebration, Broadland Housing Association Chief Executive Michael Newey said the occasion was bittersweet. 

Patricia and Richard were amazing as Board members. They both played a significant part in making this development reality.  It’s fitting that their names adorn the first two blocks which have been completed here, because above all both of them felt it was very important that people have somewhere to call home.

Michael Newey, Chief Executive, Broadland Housing Associatoin

Lord Howarth (pictured above, centre), who was Baroness Hollis’ partner, said:

Patricia was not about public recognition, but she would have been very proud to have her name associated with a social housing project in Norwich.  She would have been thrilled at the fulfilment of this project.

She was very happy to be invited to chair Broadland Housing Association. She loved working with them, and was very proud of what they achieved.

Patricia was also very fond of Richard Hawthorn, a fellow trustee and a great advocate for the interests of Broadland’s tenants.

Lord Alan Howarth

‘Community is all about people’

Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said that the new development was a community space which would enable the community to flourish.

Ultimately community is about people. It’s about buildings, it’s about infrastructure, it’s about talking, and Patricia was very good at all of those things. She was a community builder.

When people look at the name Patricia Hollis on this building in years to come, all they need to know is that she helped to build that building, and that she helped to build a community not just here, but across the city, and in many people’s hearts.

Clive Lewis MP (Norwich South)

Richard Hawthorn’s son Marcus sent a message from Canada which was read out at the ceremony. 

My father could not have wished for a greater accolade than to have his name associated with a cause that is supporting people, and that it should be so close to Carrow Road and his beloved Canaries.

Marcus Hawthorn
Read biographies of Baroness Patricia Hollis and Richard HawthornDownload

Canary Quay has been built on land formerly owned by Norwich City Football Club.  The development is a mixture of social housing, affordable homes and open market properties.

AGM 2021 – Broadland Housing focused on ‘enduring purpose’ of providing good quality, affordable homes

AGM 2021 – Broadland Housing focused on ‘enduring purpose’ of providing good quality, affordable homes

Broadland Housing held its Annual General Meeting in September. Michael Newey, Chief Executive (pictured), said that the key challenges in 2020-21 had been to keep people safe, keep homes decent and meet tenants’ expectations. He described how Broadland had ‘gone the extra mile’ to meet these challenges.

Michael Newey, Chief Executive of Broadland Housing Association, addresses the 2021 AGM

Providing new homes

Despite the pandemic, during 2020-21 Broadland Housing delivered:

  • a total of 147 new homes (against a target of 72), of which
  • 92 were affordable rent
  • 33 were for shared ownership

During the year Broadland also allocated:

  • a total of 348 homes, of which
  • 117 were to homeless households
  • 111 to older people.

Keeping tenants safe

The pandemic has been the most significant event of my life, and the same is true for most of us. Life has changed, and we have all faced significant challenges.  I am really proud of how we transitioned almost overnight to meet those challenges and continue to meet our objectives.

Our ambitions remain the same, but the world has changed. We have had to adapt the way we do things.  Our number one priority has been keeping people safe, and that has sometimes meant that we haven’t been able to do everything that we wanted to do. 

Supporting people has never been more important, whether through befriending calls with people who have been isolated in their homes, or dealing with urgent issues such as emergency repairs.”

Michael Newey, Chief Executive

Working towards net carbon zero

As Broadland emerges from the pandemic, it faces the continuing challenges of responding to climate change and tackling homelessness, and a renewed focus on local delivery all priorities, along with continuing to provide more new homes.

Climate change will in the long term be a bigger issue than Covid. The issue is how we can deliver the 2050 net carbon zero target without pushing people into fuel poverty? One piece of research has estimated that meeting that target will cost an average of nearly £21,000 per affordable home, so the financial impact is enormous.

Tackling homelessness has been a long-term priority for us.  The pandemic inspired a renewed sense of joined-up thinking and partnership working, and we have played a role in both the Norfolk Strategic Housing Partnership and the Norfolk Homelessness Forum.  We have also worked with King’s Lynn, Norwich and Great Yarmouth to provide ‘housing first’ accommodation, move-on accommodation and homes for prison leavers.

Michael Newey, Chief Executive

First hybrid AGM

Thanking tenants, staff and stakeholders for their support over the year, Michael Newey said:

There is no doubt that the pandemic will continue to have a substantial impact on our operations during the coming year. However, our commitment to delivering our enduring purpose, namely helping people who cannot afford decent places to live in the open market access good quality affordable homes, remains as strong as ever.

The AGM was Broadland’s first hybrid meeting. To observe Covid-19 safety guidance, a limited number of people attended in person, while the remainder joined virtually.

Download a copy of the 2020-21 Annual Report.

Edgefield residents share feedback on their new homes with architects and designers

We recently invited residents at our Edgefield development to meet the architects and designers who created their new homes. It was an opportunity for them to give feedback to improve future developments.

The mixed-tenure scheme at Edgefield, Norfolk, is on the north side of the village. It contains 12 affordable homes and 10 open-market homes.

Resident feedback will shape future developments

At the evening event, residents enjoyed pizza on the open green space which forms part of the Edgefield scheme. They talked directly to the architects, designers, specifiers and project managers who were responsible for their new homes. The residents’ valuable insight will feed into future Broadland projects.

We weren’t able to hold a traditional launch event for this site due to the Covid pandemic. So a few months on, we decided instead to take advantage of the fact that people have been living in their new homes for a while to gain some feedback about how the on-paper designs have translated into their real-life experience.

It was a hugely useful exercise, as well as bringing the new community together socially.  This kind of mixed-tenure scheme is increasingly how we are able to deliver affordable homes, especially in rural locations such as north Norfolk

Executive Development Director Andrew Savage (pictured centre)

Mixed-tenure scheme

Nine of the new homes at Edgefield are affordable rent properties for local people. A further 3 are shared-ownership homes.  The remaining 10 homes were sold on the open market to help fund Broadland’s programme of building social housing in the Norfolk and north Suffolk

Talk reveals the fascinating history of The Orchards, Aylsham

Talk reveals the fascinating history of The Orchards, Aylsham

  • External view of Broadland Housing Association property:The Orchards, Aylsham, Norfolk
  • Maggie Vaughan and Dr Roger Polhill of the Aylsham Town Archive

Broadland Housing tenants at The Orchards on Norwich Road learned the fascinating history of their home at an exclusive event at Aylsham Town Hall recently.

After the illustrated talk by the Aylsham Town Archive, tenants enjoyed a cream tea.

Archivists and historians Dr Roger Polhill and Maggie Vaughan-Lewis (pictured above) had trawled local archives at the town hall and Aylsham Heritage Centre for the story of the mock Tudor building. The Orchards was built in 1848 by William Repton, principal solicitor in the town, and son of the renowned landscape designer Humphry Repton.

“It has soul as well as history…”

Tenant Paul Gibson, who moved to The Orchards in July, said:

What a fantastic insight into our home. It’s so interesting to hear its history, I will look on it with a new eye now.

The Orchards is a wonderful place to live. It has got all sorts of nooks and crannies. It has soul as well as history, as well as spectacular gardens.  I keep waiting for some Victorian ghost to come wafting up!

Mary, another tenant, who has lived at The Orchards for a year, echoed Paul’s thoughts:

I have lived in Aylsham for 8 years, and always used to walk past The Orchards. I didn’t know any of the history, but I always thought it would be my dream home.

It’s like living in Blickling Hall, with its baronial entrance hall.  It’s everything I dreamed of an more – it’s my miracle flat!

Thanking Dr Polhill and Mrs Vaughan-Lewis for their presentation, Paula Strachan, Communication and Tenant Participation Manager, said:

Many residents at the Orchards know snippets about the history of the building, but it has been really interesting to hear a well-researched and authentic history from its construction right to the present day.

The story of The Orchards

(information provided by Dr Roger Polhill and Maggie Vaughan-Lewis of Aylsham Town Archive)

The Orchards was built by William Repton in 1848 for his illegitimate daughter Eleanor (later Helen) Panton, who had married his partner in the law business William Scott in 1840.  Repton, who lived on the Market Place, had bought two acres of a former nursery in 1828 and used it as an orchard (hence the name of the house).

It was designed by William’s elder brother John Adey Repton, an associate of famous architect George Gilbert Scott, in neo-Tudor style.  William Repton commissioned builder and carpenter Robert Bartram, based in Millgate, to build the house, insisting that work continued in three eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day.

On William Repton’s death in 1858, William Scott was the main beneficiary, and ten years later they moved into the Old Bank House and sold The Orchards.  The 1868 sale catalogue describes a 23’x16’ dining room, two drawing rooms, a breakfast room, smoking room and gun room, as well as nine bedrooms and three upper storey drawing rooms, and extensive grounds.

Below stairs were domestic offices, a butler’s pantry, store room, glass closet, kitchens and wine and ale cellars, and there were four attic bedrooms for domestics.

The property was bought by the Wright family, who let the house to a succession of tenants, including Justice of the Peace and brewer Charles Morse, who entertained the Duke of Connaught – third son of Queen Victoria – to lunch in the house.

In 1927 The Orchards was bought by World War One hero Captain James Sears, remembered for the Ian Sears Clinic he built at the bottom of the garden, which was a Child Welfare Centre.  Sears subsequently became involved in Labour politics, and eventually sold the house to the Aylsham and District Labour Party to be used as a hostel.

It was later bought by John Baden (J.B.) Postle, who converted it into a number of flats.  His daughter Ann inherited the house in 1963, but by 1990 it was falling into disrepair, and when it was listed in 1995, Broadland District Council advised her that it would take £50,000 to bring it up to Grade II listed standard.  It was put up for sale in 1997, but by 2001 it was reported as being derelict with evidence of squatters, and in June that year a fire damaged the property.

Broadland Housing Association took on the property in 2002, converting the main house into 8 flats, and building a sympathetically-designed new building also containing 8 flats.

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