Development

Under the Director of Business Development, the Development Section’s role is to identify development opportunities to increase the Group's housing stock and to identify initiatives to increase the provision of affordable housing. The team includes a Development Manager, Development Assistant, Technical Officer, Sales and Marketing Manager and Strategic Asset Manager.

New Build

The Development team actively seeks sites for new build developments, some of which are in partnership with private developers or which arise from the requirement for affordable housing as part of the planning approval on larger private development sites (Section 106 sites). Some new build has been created through re-development of existing residential or commercial land (“brownfield” sites).

The majority of the Group's stock is within South Staffordshire, a rural area, which presents problems for developing due to green belt restrictions. To address this, the Group is working with a Rural Housing Enabler to release rural exception sites for small developments. We are also expanding our geographical areas of operation to include neighbouring authorities, currently including Cannock, Bridgnorth, Stone and Dudley.

The environment agenda is a key priority for the section and sustainable technologies and building methods are being explored through a pilot project in Penkridge. The section also heads the staff energy efficiency working group.

The section works in partnership with other organisations and local authorities to deliver developments, and is part of the Spectrum Development Partnership through which we submit bids for Housing Corporation funding, tender for Contractors and Consultants, and work in partnership to deliver the ‘rural agenda’.

(external link) www.spectrumdevelopmentpartnership.co.uk

Purchase of Existing Satisfactory Dwellings

The section also purchases Existing Satisfactory Dwellings (ESDs) – properties which were previously Council or Association owned but sold through Right to Buy legislation. These may be identified on the open housing market or notified to us by local estate agents, and are funded by the Housing Corporation or Local Authority through Social Housing Grant.

New Build Home Buy

New Build Home Buy, formerly known as Shared Ownership offers those who cannot afford to purchase their own property, primarily first time buyers, the opportunity to buy an initial share in a property of between 25% and 75%. They will then pay a discounted rent to the housing association on the remainder of the unsold equity. Additional shares in the property can then be purchased up to 100% (for some rural and elderly schemes this may be restricted to 80%). The team has developed its first New Build HomeBuy schemes in Cannock, Huntington, Coseley, Stone and Shifnal and has several future developments of this kind coming soon.