We’ve been successful in securing a further grant of £343,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to improve homes in Solihull and Walsall.
The money has been awarded through the Social Housing Quality Fund and will be used to tackle potential hazards in the home including damp, mould and condensation. This will be done through the installation of new ventilation systems in kitchens and bathrooms and the installation of environmental monitoring equipment so that it is able to collect information on the thermal efficiency of homes.
In total £178,000 will be spent on improvements to 84 homes in Solihull and £165,000 will be spent on 37 homes in Walsall, of these 37 homes in Walsall 17 will also have new heating systems installed.
This grant follows a £2.1m grant which was awarded to us in November last year by the WMCA to improve 1,045 homes in Coventry.
All works to the homes need to be completed by 31 March 2024.
Our chief operating officer, Mads Nelson, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded further money from the WMCA to help improve our customers homes in Solihull and Walsall. Along with our previous grant for Coventry, we will be improving 1,166 homes across the West Midlands.
“Our business strategy is focused on making sure our homes are safe, sustainable and that we are investing in homes to improve their quality. This additional money means that we can deliver these services to homes ahead of our planned time.
“Thank you to the team for their hard work and we hope our customers receiving the works see the benefit of them.”
We are working with Switchee to install the smart devices that will measure the internal conditions of the homes where they are installed.
Switchee devices measure the average internal temperature, humidity, heat loss rate (how quickly a property loses heat once the heating is switched off) and the time to heat (the time taken for the internal temperature to increase by one degree Celsius when the heating is turned on).
The Switchee dashboard that we can access will also flag properties that are consistently below the Public Health England recommended temperature of 18 degrees Celsius and therefore at a higher risk of damp and mould.
Switchee CEO, Tom Robins, said: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Citizen to ensure that real, tangible results are achieved through the use of our data. Working together, we can install Switchee smart devices into residents’ homes and complete work to improve their ventilation. Our devices not only help landlords to identify the homes most affected by fuel poverty and at a higher risk of damp and mould, but they also improve the energy efficiency of the home. This could potentially lower the residents’ heating bills by up to 17 percent.
“Fuel poverty is intimately linked to poor health and evidence strongly suggests that living in cold homes and poor housing can have a direct and detrimental effect on health. Therefore, we are happy to be part of the next stage in this challenge with Citizen, to fight against fuel poverty, so together we can tackle the knock-on effects it has to the residents living in them”.
Cllr Ian Courts, the WMCA’s portfolio holder for housing and land and Leader of Solihull Council, said: “This new money from the WMCA for homes in Solihull and Walsall comes hard on the heels of the £2.1 million we made available to Citizen last year to tackle the issue of damp and mould in their Coventry properties.
“It’s great to see this latest funding being used to improve many more homes across the West Midlands. Decent housing is vital for people’s quality of life, so I look forward to seeing how this investment can make a positive difference for Citizen’s tenants while also providing data about the average internal temperature, humidity and heat loss rate of the typical home, invaluable information for supporting work to make our housing stock warmer and more energy efficient.”
Work has started to build the 2,000th affordable home in a collaboration between the Matrix Housing Partnership and Homes England.
The home is being built on the Swan Lane development in West Bromwich, which will see 147 homes for affordable and social rent built in total.
We are part of the Matrix Housing Partnership which is a consortium of social landlords. It is also made up of Black Country Housing Group, Green Square Accord, Pioneer Housing and Community Group, Rooftop Housing Association and Trident Housing Association.
Homes England, a public body which funds new affordable housing, awarded the Matrix Housing Partnership £84.5million in 2018 to support the delivery of 2,124 social and affordable homes across the West Midlands.
The homes at Swan Lane will be managed by Green Square Accord, who also lead the consortium, and the event marks an important milestone for the partnership.
Our executive director of development Nick Byrne said: “It’s brilliant that we have reached this milestone in the Matrix Housing Partnership and fantastic news to provide 2,000 more affordable homes as part of the consortium.
“Despite challenges in the housing sector over the last few years, we’re so pleased to be working together with other housing associations across the West Midlands and to be providing the homes that people need.
“We’re looking forward to working with the Matrix Housing Partnership in future and building more homes together.”
The homes at Swan Lane are being constructed by MORRO Partnerships and will be built using prefabricated open-panel timber frames supplied by LoCaL Homes – a low carbon manufacturing facility based in Walsall.
Chair of Matrix Housing Partnership and chief executive of Green Square Accord, Ruth Cooke, said: “It is an honour for the Matrix Housing Partnership to be recognised as a key strategic partner of Homes England. We have been collaborating for nearly 20 years and the construction start at Swan Lane demonstrates our continued success in delivering affordable homes.
“It was fantastic to see shovels in the ground at Swan Lane. This exciting new scheme will deliver almost 150 much-needed affordable homes in West Bromwich.
“Swan Lane is a special development as it will deliver the 2000th affordable home by the Matrix Housing Partnership since we first secured strategic partner funding from Homes England in 2018. This milestone demonstrates that despite all the challenges in recent years for our sector, we can still pull together and deliver high quality homes for our communities.
“On behalf of all the Matrix Partners, I would like to thank Sandwell Council, Homes England and MORRO Partnerships for their invaluable support for this scheme.”
Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and WMCA, Councillor Peter Hughes, said: “I am delighted that work is starting on this important development. Affordable housing such as this is key to tackle the housing crisis and homelessness and provide residents with a step onto the housing ladder.
“This shows Sandwell Council’s determination to achieve its Vision 2030 pledge to meet a full range of housing needs in attractive neighbourhoods and close to key transport routes.”
The Swan Lane development is well served by public transport with the Black Lake Metro stop less than 100 metres away and several popular bus routes in operation close by. The development is also located close to the George Salter Academy, several supermarkets and other conveniences in both West Bromwich and Great Bridge town centres.
In October 2021, the Matrix Housing Partnership also secured £185m from the UK Government’s Affordable Homes Programme to support a further 2,167 affordable homes which will start before April 2026.
We’re committed to working with a group of partners in Hillfields to make it a better place to live and work.
We’re working with West Midlands Police and Coventry City Council as part of the #OurHillfields partnership to combine and focus resources and tackle the things that matter most to the local community.
Our director of care and support Peter Gill said: “We’re committed to working with our partners in Hillfields to make a positive difference for our customers and communities.
“At Citizen we have worked hard to gather intelligence, which we have shared with our partners, and this has led to legal enforcements and prosecutions in the area.
“We’d encourage anyone in Hillfields who has witnessed anti-social behaviour to get in touch with the Hillfields team so we can address it. We’re continuing to work with our partners in Hillfields and look forward to making a further impact in the community.”
Sergeant Kim Keating from Hillfields neighbourhood policng team said : “#OurHillfields is about making sure that all those people working in Hillfields are working together and coordinating our efforts in the area. Often the issues they deal with are just one part of a wider problem that can be tackled much more effectively if we coordinate our resources.
“We know that seeing is believing and we will be working hard to keep the community updated with any progress and results we have as well as being really open about any issues that may take longer to sort out.
“Hillfields has great community spirit, there are lots of people that have lived and worked in the area for years who want to help improve some of the issues the area faces.
“Between police, the council and Citizen, we’ve got the tools and the resources to deal with the majority of issues in the area. However, we can’t do this alone, we need the local residents and businesses to work with us.
“We can only tackle issues if we know about them, so we’re asking Hillfields residents and businesses to get in touch and let us know about anything that is causing them concern.
“Whether it’s a reports of noise nuisance, problems with vandalism or rubbish or people committing crime or behaving in an anti-social way, the #OurHillfields team can look into these issues and work with you on a solution.”
A postcard has been created for all partners to give out during their daily work in Hillfields and posters and leaflets will appear in main community spaces.
Each of these give a number of options for reporting issues and we are asking those of you local to Hillfields make a note of the contact details and use them if you come across an issue.
Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities and Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council, said: “The value of partnership work is crucial. We want the local community to know that there are a whole range of people working day in, day out to help improve the area and in the city.
“That includes the Council carrying out operations targeting fly tippers and clearing rubbish from public spaces, Citizen improving the level of security within their high rise blocks and the local police making sure that their officers are regularly patrolling the worst hit areas for crime and anti-social behaviour.
“We want the community to report their concerns.”
The shared approach across the three organisations is already starting to see results. The partnership worked together to design and put up a number of lamppost posters promoting Crimestoppers if people want to report issues anonymously. Reports have already started coming in that are being used to inform police and partner activity in the area.
There is also a regular ‘PACT’ (police and communities together) meeting held that is attended by all the agencies where you can go along and speak to people in person about any issues you have.
The #OurHillfields team are committed to keeping everyone updated on their work and any results and progress across their channels so follow the #ourhillfields hashtag for updates.
Find out more about what we’ve been doing in the video below:
Thirty projects have been supported with grants of up to £3,000 through the Citizen Local Fund.
The fund is a pot of money available to community groups across the West Midlands who are running in our communities.
We put aside £50,000 this year to invest in groups which improve mental and physical wellbeing, reduce isolation and loneliness, bring people together of all ages and communities, and enhance local areas.
One of the latest projects awarded funding is the Champion Inclusivity CIC group and they used the money for a winter lantern walk at Prior Deram Park in Coventry.
Ten workshops were held in the run up to the event where people from the community could make their own lanterns at various public venues in Canley. The lanterns were LED as well as being solar powered and people in the community decorated them themselves. They then took part in the winter lantern walk once the lanterns were complete.
Nor Aziz, who is the founder of Champion Inclusivity CIC group, said: “The event was about bringing people together. There are a lot of Citizen customers who live here and we want to raise awareness of community in the area.
“It’s good for tenants living here to get to know each other. We had about 50 people take part in the walk and they were happy to be doing it.
“This event is a new idea for our group and we want people to feel a sense of belonging. I wanted to bring the community together more which is why I applied to the Citizen Local Fund.”
The group was one of 10 organisations who were granted funding in this round of the Citizen Local Fund.
Our customer engagement partner Caroline Arrow said it’s fantastic organisations like Champion Inclusivity CIC are supported.
She said: “Congratulations to Champion Inclusivity CIC on receiving their funding and for holding an event which has involved the local community.
“At Citizen we want to work with our partners to make a difference to our customers and our communities and the Citizen Local fund does just that.
“It’s fantastic to hear the impact that the money is making already by helping those living in our communities take part in events which feel help them feel included.
“Congratulations to everyone who has received funding in the latest round of the citizen Local fund. We are looking forward to it being used and seeing the impact it makes.”
Other groups who have benefited in the latest round are:
Slick Chefs, St Peters – The group will work with a group of six people one night each week so they can learn how to cook family dinners. Slick Chefs will provide the tools, ingredients and guidance.
Welshman Hill Allotments, Birmingham – 11 allotment plots are used by residents living on the Welshman estate. The area has become overgrown and the money will be used to improve the area, keep it maintained and to buy plants for it.
Sangam, Walsgrave, Coventry – This is a group set up during lockdown to help combat isolation and loneliness. They run a weekly Chai and Chat session and would like to use the money to carry out chair exercises, yoga, craft, board games, flower arranging. They would like to have sessions whereby guest speakers come and talk to them about various subjects, such as benefits advice, cost of living, healthy lifestyles.
Hereford Food Bank – money will help with the food bank. They operate through a system of referrals where they receive request for a food parcel from agencies and establish if the person or family is genuine.
Woodview Community forum, Edgbaston – the group are celebrating black history by providing activities for those in the community. They will use the money on intergenerational activities where people can share stories, reminisce and learn from each other at a community day.
Radford Community Allotment, Coventry – funding will be spent on the allotment which is local to Citizen customers. The project will help combat social isolation as people can engage with others at the allotment.
Chiswick House Garden, Coventry – money will help our customer buy some perennial plants for the garden
House Project Coventry – The project supports people age 16 to 18 who are leaving care to live connected and fulfilling lives. The care leavers live in Citizen properties and are supported to help them manage their own homes.
Head of Adullam Social Enterprises, Small Heath – the group will use the money to develop a food and wellbeing garden in the community to be used by vulnerable adults. The project will focus on teaching people how to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and sensory plants in the garden.
The next round of the Citizen Local Fund will open in the Spring.
Customers have moved into their new homes as our extended modular pilot is completed.
We worked with Coventry City Council and ModPods International on the scheme to build 24 homes on former garage sites across Coventry.
Customer Wayne Millward is moving into one of the homes with his wife, Gillian. They are downsizing from their current two bed home.
He said: “A brand-new property will be amazing and it’s just round the corner from my dad, so it ticks all the boxes for me!
“With it being a brand-new home and having solar panels on the roof we are looking forward to it being much better for us in terms of energy bills and it will also be more manageable for us too.
“My wife and I are downsizing, we were in a two bed semi and we want a family to have our previous home as they will make better use of it than we will and we are moving into a bungalow which is more suitable for us.”
The modular homes are built at the Modpods International factory in Stoneleigh and are transported to site by truck. They are then craned into place and connected to services.
The homes which are a mix of bungalows and family houses have also been installed at Bradney Green, Coleman Street, Fletchamstead Highway, Attoxhall Road, Capmartin Road, Shepherd Close and Thimbler Road.
Our executive director of development Nick Byrne said: “We’re so pleased to hear about customers moving into our modular homes and what the new home means to Wayne and Gillian. It’s also brilliant to hear they are now able to move into the bungalow they were looking for and that they are freeing up a home for other families who are on the waiting lists.
“The handover of the homes at Wedon Close to customers will mark the completion of our extended modular pilot which has seen 24 homes built on eight garage sites across Coventry.
“There are many benefits to modular homes including high energy efficiency and, as they are built in a factory, they can be constructed in all weathers. When they are craned on to the site they are hooked up to the services and the house is ready to use. We hope all our customers who have moved into modular homes will be happy in their new homes.”
Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, added: “I’m really pleased to see 24 modular properties completed across garage sites in Coventry. This is a really efficient way to create homes.
“They’re affordable and energy efficient and I’d love to see more of these on similar small brownfield sites.
“The council, Citizen and other local agencies are doing all that we can to support families who are desperate to access good quality cost-effective homes. We are committed to addressing the housing crisis and we are desperate for the government to effectively fund this work.”
CEO from ModPods International Peter Farrelly added: “It’s great to be working with Citizen on this scheme to provide homes for people across Coventry
“ModPods International homes are built with robust steel frame structures, are insulated and compliant to meet building and fire regulations.
“We’re so pleased to have finished the site at Wedon and it’s great to see Citizen customers moving in.”
We’ve been successful in securing a £2.1m grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to improve the quality of our homes.
The money, which has been allocated by the Government as part of a £15m package for social housing in the West Midlands Combined Authority area, will be used to tackle the potential hazards in homes including damp, mould and condensation.
The funding will help us deliver a programme of works to improve the quality of homes. This will include improved ventilation and the installation of environmental monitoring equipment so that it is able to collect information on the thermal efficiency of homes.
The works are to be completed by 31 March 2024.
We are working with leading data and insights company Switchee who are providing the smart devices that will measure the internal conditions of the homes where they are installed.
Switchee devices measure the average internal temperature, humidity, heat loss rate (how quickly a property loses heat once the heating is switched off) and the time to heat (the time taken for the internal temperature to increase by one degree Celsius when the heating is turned on).
The Switchee dashboard that we can access will also flag properties that are consistently below the Public Health England recommended temperature of 18 degrees Celsius and therefore at a higher risk of damp and mould.
Our chief operating officer Mads Nelson said: “We are so pleased to have been granted the full amount of funding to help our customers across the Coventry.
“Our new business strategy is focused on making sure that our homes are safe, sustainable and that we are investing in homes to improve their quality. It’s brilliant that we have secured funding to do this, and we are working in partnership with the Coventry City Council.
“The successful bid follows our other winning bid for Government’s social housing decarbonisation funding, where we were awarded a £24 million government grant to support a £68 million programme to retrofit over 2,000 homes in Coventry.
“I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the team who put the bid together as our success will have a massive impact on our customers.”
Switchee’s CEO, Tom Robins, said: “We’re immensely proud to be partnering with Citizen to bring real, tangible changes to the lives of residents by helping them use data to tackle damp and mould.
“This is a unique partnership for Switchee, as it is the first time we have worked with the installer network to complete other work outside of installing Switchee devices. In this case we will be improving ventilation in properties as we install our devices to further reduce their risk of damp and mould by reducing the level of humidity and measuring the effect of the works undertaken. The March deadline for all 1,087 installations also sets a tough challenge but one that we are thrilled to be part of.”
Cllr Ian Courts, the WMCA’s portfolio holder for housing and land and leader of Solihull Council, said: “This £2.1 million grant will help Citizen tackle the issue of damp and mould in their homes. This is not only a health hazard for those living in them but also a major contributor to people’s poor quality of life overall.
“I look forward to seeing Citizen invest this grant into measures that will make a positive difference for those people living in homes that are blighted by this problem.”
We are piloting a new video call application, Help Me Fix, offering our customers the option to live video-call an engineer to talk through their request for a repair.
We’re one of only three organisations in the UK to adopt the modern technology – offering customers a flexible approach to repairs.
The video-call application is optional to customers with simple plumbing and electrical repairs and does not replace a visit from an engineer – the home visit is automatically booked and will only be cancelled if the repair can be fixed during the video-call between the customer and engineer.
The video-call link is live for 24 hours and, during this time, the customer can make repeat calls to the same engineer about the repair.
If the repair cannot be fixed, the appointment is kept, and the information collected during the session will be passed to the engineer to continue with the planned home visit.
Director of maintenance operations at Citizen Steve Kirk said: “We’re always looking at ways we can use technology to improve our systems and services, as set out in our Business Strategy 2023-26. Offering a video call to customers is a great way to give a fast interactive response to a problem and to get an accurate diagnosis. We really hope that customer find this helpful.
“If a home visit is required, the video call means that we’ve already collected information about the resident and the fault – this is very useful when we’re visiting vulnerable residents and ordering parts.”
Robert, a Citizen customer piloting the service, added: “The video call was very convenient to use. The engineer explained what was required and how I should set about the repair. This was because I had elected to undertake the repair myself as opposed to needing an engineer to attend my property.
“I felt that it did save time because we were able to discuss the problem and systematically go through the steps required to afford a repair.”
The pilot will run from November 2023 and be reviewed, based on customer feedback, and impact on repairs programme, in the spring of 2024.
The application is designed to improve the Citizen customer experience, whilst at the same time, freeing up time for engineers to carry out more repairs, prioritising emergency repairs and lowering the numbers of vehicles on the road.
Watch the video explaining the service and what customers can expect when they use the application:
The Help Me Fix application is designed in partnership with Trade Innovations a software solutions company that specialises in driving change in the construction industry, through innovation and the use of technology.
We’ve recently welcomed four new people to Citizen’s Board.
The Board oversee the strategy and direction of our organisation and make sure our Executive Leadership Team is working effectively.
Our new members are now in place and will each bring their own expertise to the role. Those who have joined us include Joan Allen, David Blower, Angela Carpenter and Stephen Russell.
Find out more about our new board members here:
Joan Allen
Joan is currently a member of the Customer Assurance Committee and has also recently been appointed chair of the committee. She has been a social housing customer for over 40 years, where she has had the opportunity to work with various landlords to give all customers a voice.
She said: “I wanted to work with Citizen to raise customer’s issues or concerns and highlight and build on the successes that I have seen them make over the years, as well as using my lived experience to be an effective spokesperson for customers at all levels of the business.
“My experiences give me the ability to empathise, engage and communicate with others, irrespective of differences or life challenges; additionally, this enables me to interpret policy, procedures, regulation and appropriately challenge when and where required.”
David Blower
David has 30 years’ experience in social housing. He is a qualified accountant and holds an MBA from Warwick Business School. During his career he held a range of senior roles across the sector and has been executive lead for finance, treasury, risk, technology, people and culture, governance and EDI.
He said: “Our vision that home is the foundation of life is compelling. Everyone deserves a safe, secure home and I want to help us deliver our vision. I’m driven to support organisations achieve more by helping them maximise their capabilities and take better risks. Resulting in better outcomes for customers and wider stakeholders.
“I’m looking forward to working with a great group of colleagues to help us deliver even better services to our current and future customers.”
Angela Carpenter
Angela is a qualified accountant and is currently the executive director governance and compliance at the ExtraCare Charitable Trust, a not-for-profit retirement village developer.
She said: “I was looking for an opportunity to join the Board of a social housing provider and what I really like about Citizen is the clear messaging. The core purpose – providing homes that are a foundation for life – and engaging values all resonate with me.
“I’m also a Coventry kid (Radford born and bred) so being able to get involved with an organisation which is having an impact on my local community and the wider Midlands area was also very attractive. It will be exciting to be part of a Board supporting our Executive team and I am especially keen on us hearing the voice of our customers and staff to inform our services.”
Stephen Russell
Stephen is director of data, strategy and technology at Warwickshire Police and also has 10 years’ experience working at Midland Heart.
He said: “I am from the midlands and have worked and lived across the areas where Citizen has a significant presence.
“Whilst I left the sector to work elsewhere, I remain interested in the work of housing associations and always kept an eye on what was happening. The fact that Citizen has recently launched a new ambitious strategy and is clearly committed about its social purpose was attractive and important to me. I am most excited to be part of an organisation that has a really ambitious plan and one that I am convinced it will achieve.”
At the end of September, three people also stood down from the Board. This included John Cresswell who was our senior independent director. He was at the end of the maximum nine-year term. Sue Brooksbank-Taylor will take on his role and she will step away from being the chair of development board.
Rich Nowell who was our chair of audit and risk committee and Helen Scarrett who was our chair of the customer assurance committee are also both stepping down after completing nearly eight years with us. David Blower will be the new chair for the audit and risk committee and Joan Allen is the new customer assurance committee chair.
At the end of the year Janice Nichols will also step down from the board after eight years in post.
Claire Williams will be stepping down from the audit and risk committee and will be taking over as chair of the development board.
Chief executive at Citizen Kevin Rodgers said: “Congratulations to our new Board members and welcome to Citizen. We are looking forward to working with you all and seeing the impact you make.
“I’d like to thank all the Board members who are stepping down for their hard work and service throughout their time at Citizen.
“I’d also like to thank all of the colleagues who have been involved in this recruitment campaign and took part in the interview process.”
Care leavers in Coventry have been congratulated after graduating from the House Project.
A ceremony was held at the HMV Empire in Coventry and awards were presented to some of the leavers, who are aged between 16 and 18, in categories including future leader and sports hero.
The House Project is a programme in which we have partnered with Coventry City Council. Young people move into one of our homes and receive support from the council with things such as budgeting. The programme allows young people in care to live independently in a well planned and supported way.
Caydon Smith is one of this year’s graduates. He said he found the project so useful as he received so much education and support to do things for himself.
He said: “The project has helped me with my budgeting skills and living independently which includes washing clothes, cleaning and cooking and it’s helped me become the adolescent I should be. The support has been amazing.
“I feel a bit nervous graduating, but everyone who is part of the project is caring so it will be good. I’m so proud of everyone who has graduated from the House Project, I’m proud of you all and I’m proud of myself – we’ve done it!”
Chloe Coffey hosted the graduation and awards ceremony, having herself graduated from the House Project last year.
She said: “I took part in this project because I needed somewhere that I could call home. I wanted to experience what it was like living on my own. I had a lot of trauma growing up and I wanted to escape from that and live my own life and start my own career path. The House Project helped me gain confidence, helped me live independently without struggles – no one goes unsupported in the House Project.
“I now successfully live on my own, it’ll be coming up to two years next year and I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn’t for the House Project and the support from my social worker.
“I’d like to say well done on your success to everyone who has graduated, you’ve smashed it and I wish you the best for your future.”
Our director of care and support Peter Gill congratulated everyone who graduated.
He said: “The House Project is a great initiative as it supports young care leavers and we’re really proud to be part of it.
“We take part in this project because it’s the right thing to do. Young people don’t always get a great start in life and sometimes they need some support and some additional help, so what we’re trying to do by working with Coventry City Council is give them somewhere to live and the council are providing support to help them sustain their tenancies.”
Cllr Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People at Coventry City Council, said: “Our Care Leaver Awards are so important because they give us a chance to take time and congratulate our young people in person, and repeat our promise to support them as they enter the next exciting stage of their lives.
”Coventry is so proud of its care leavers and the way they overcome the obstacles in their young lives to achieve so much.
“The awards mean a great deal, not just to those receiving them, but to everyone involved in their young lives so far, and to us as a Council. The amazing stories we hear deserve to be celebrated, but we also congratulate all care leavers – whether they have won an award or not they have all done amazing things and worked so hard.
“Leaving care and striking out on your own can be a daunting prospect and young people have to learn a lot of new skills very quickly, and the House Project does such great work in teaching those skills and giving support.
“Congratulations to all our care leavers. We are very proud of them all and we wish them well for the future.”
Homes planned for our Windmill View development in Upper Lighthorne, Warwickshire, have been given the go ahead and £2m will be invested in the local community.
Countryside Partnerships has worked together with Homes England to finalise the purchase of land near Leamington Spa to build 259 homes – 130 of these will be affordable homes owned and managed by us and the remaining 129 will be sold by the Linden Homes brand.
As part of the development, £2m will be invested in healthcare, education, roads and other local services for both current and new members of the community.
Permission has been granted to build the first phase of homes at the development and work is expected to start on site, later this year.
Our executive director of development Nick Byrne said: “We are proud to be involved with this exciting new scheme, delivering much-needed new affordable homes for the local community.
“Having worked with Countryside on a number of other projects, we’re pleased to be partnering with them once again on another high-quality development. We’re looking forward to seeing this development progress once work starts.”
Managing director South West Midlands Countryside Partnerships, said; “Having secured this site as part of a procurement process with Homes England in 2022, it’s exciting to have received planning for the first phase and to have Citizen on board for the affordable homes.
Residents here will enjoy the opportunity to be part of a thriving new community, close to the history and amenities of Leamington Spa, with a wealth of green space on the doorstep and transport links via the M40 within easy reach.”
Senior planning and enabling manager at Homes England Ragu Sittambalam said: “This is an important milestone for Countryside’s Windmill View development and is the next step towards the creation of 259 new homes, many of which will be affordable, in an area of unaffordability.
“We have worked with Countryside to ensure critical infrastructure can be built to support the development and wider area, and our investment will help to accelerate the delivery of new homes. We’re looking forward to seeing the new community taking shape over the coming years.”
As part of the second phase, the site is expected to deliver 280 homes and this means the wider development will eventually provide around 1,000 homes.
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