Build more homes

The impact of the 2020 spring national lockdown had a significant impact on the housing sector. We closed the majority of our development sites while we prepared for new, essential safety measures.

We had to be realistic, so we factored in the three-month development delay and adjusted our new homes completion target from 1,000 to 794. When the industry started re-opening in May 2020, we were ready to get going, putting the health and safety of our colleagues and customers first. With the support of our dedicated development team, external contractors and partners – and while adhering to new social distancing measures - we completed 801 new homes.

We’re pleased to be ahead of our revised target, while also having secured a strong pipeline for future builds. This means we’ve got plots for a further 1,333 homes in the coming year and a 10-year estimated investment of £1.9 billion.

We‘re all about partnership working. We work alongside expert contractors and developers to build more high-quality homes, faster. We’re embracing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to help us achieve that.

The modular system used for construction means entire sections of the homes are built offsite and delivered to the location ready to be placed on the foundations. Using precision engineering, the homes are built in a much shorter time than traditional construction and have a lower carbon footprint due to a significant reduction in the amount of waste materials produced. Each home undergoes rigorous quality checks.

In Sedgemoor, on land provided by Homes England, we’re building 123 affordable homes using MMC in partnership with Keepmoat Homes and ilke Homes. And with BoKlok, we’re working collaboratively to provide more than 750 modular homes in the next five years.

We’re also a member of Advantage South West, a procurement consortium of housing providers. As part of this, we're collaborating with Building Better to help address the need for affordable homes through MMC. Building Better, supported by the National Housing Federation, is a strategic alliance of housing associations working together to realise the benefits of modern methods of construction. Through collaboration among housing associations and by procuring, developing and learning together we'll be able to develop offsite solutions at a greater scale.

We’re making progress at Woodgate with our partners at Thakeham, too. This is the creation of a village, where 30% of the 619-home community will be affordable. New, local jobs will be created as the build progresses, with the development of various community assets serving as a major part of this project.

The 2020 property market was in a good place before the pandemic began, then everything changed. We were braced to expect a 20% drop in house prices. But we’ve seen a positive rise in homebuying since the sector re-opened and stamp duty was suspended. We’re seeing a change in the market too. Buyers are re-evaluating where they want to live and what they require from a home with the rise in remote working.

The market we’re seeing now is a confident one. To meet that we’ve adapted the way we work, to enable people to continue buying the right home for them. We launched virtual sales appointments, events and buyer webinars, all while improving our interactive advertising experience. We’re putting customers first, to support people looking to hop onto, or move up, the property ladder.

But it hasn’t been easy. The effects of Covid-19 and Brexit, coupled with frequently changing rules and regulations, meant at times we’ve not been able to provide all the answers our customers need. But with a strong team of dedicated colleagues behind us, and a return to normal – albeit a ‘new’ kind of normal – we’ve entered the new financial year in a strong sales position.