East Seven collaborate to deliver more homes

23.01.2008

An influential group of the largest developing housing associations with their roots in the East of England plan to use their combined financial capacity and in-depth regional knowledge to help the Government meet its ambitious targets for the delivery of new affordable homes.  

The chief executives of the seven associations, known as East Seven, will meet regularly to review progress against development targets and tackle obstacles to meeting these targets.

The members of East Seven - Aldwyck Housing Group, bpha, Circle Anglia, Flagship Housing Group, Hightown Praetorian and Churches Housing Association, Orwell Housing Association (e2) and Swan Housing Group - own and manage around 100,000 affordable homes. Between them, they have the potential to deliver over 6,500 new affordable homes across the region each year.

Current Chair of East Seven, Aldwyck CE Neil Hadden, believes the strength of the alliance is the commitment of each member to meet the urgent need for more quality, affordable housing in the region in a way that builds sustainable communities and is sensitive to the concerns of existing local communities. “We all have the ambition and capacity to deliver. We’ve demonstrated proactive approaches to using our own assets and forming innovative partnerships to do so. We’re also Housing Corporation investment partners who have contributed to this region having a track record of delivering new homes with the lowest grant rate in the country.

“We can reduce delays by working together to iron out some of the practical issues we experience as developers. We will also use our influence to highlight and minimise obstacles within the housing system.”  

He gives the example of collaborating on scheme substitutions as a way in which East Seven can reduce delays to speed up the delivery of much-needed affordable homes.

Mr Hadden points out that East Seven’s members operate in one of the government’s most high profile housing growth regions. “The figures released by the National Housing Federation last week highlighting the impact of the high costs and shortfall in the supply of housing in the East of England are stark. An estimated 26,600 new households are expected to form in the region each year to 2026; overall housing supply is 25% below the level required and social housing provision is only half what it needs to be.

“We’re all working closely with local authorities and development partners to relieve the housing pressures associated with limited supply of land and high housing costs. It’s vital we use our commitment and regional know-how to continue our significant contribution to the identified need for 11,000 homes per year,” he says.

 

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