A leading housing association is set to build around 5,000 affordable homes over the next five years as part of a £1bn investment into the South West economy.
In the last financial year, LiveWest, the largest housing association in the South West, delivered 951 affordable homes, 165 for open market and 37 for market rent following a £152m investment in building new homes.
Over the next five years, LiveWest will develop more than 1,800 affordable homes in Devon, around 1,300 in Somerset, and more than 1,000 in both Cornwall and the West of England.
The region’s largest housing provider has more than 40,000 homes across the region with more than 80,000 customers. LiveWest remain on course to develop around 900 affordable homes for rent and shared ownership and 128 for outright sale during the current financial year.
Paul Crawford, Chief Executive for LiveWest, said: “The South West continues to experience a huge demand for affordable homes which makes our commitment to increasing the number of low cost rented housing ever more important.
“Despite the challenges of the last year, we have achieved a surplus which will be reinvested in new affordable homes and in improving the condition of our existing homes.
“We have built 1,153 new homes this year, of which 82% are affordable. We have also invested more into our existing homes with a £89m investment, which is £15m more than last year. These improvements include significant expenditure on building safety, energy efficiency and significant upgrades to homes.
“Our results place us in good stead to continue to improve the services we provide for our customers and fulfil our social purpose, while having the continued financial capacity to withstand external economic factors, including inflationary and interest rate pressures.
“We are well positioned to make the sizeable investments necessary to build more homes, maintain quality standards, make our existing homes more sustainable and create thriving inclusive communities where everyone can improve their life chances.
“Deepening our customer relationships is pivotal for LiveWest and our sustained efforts to meet our customers’ needs are highlighted with an 86% satisfaction rate.”
Against a backdrop of energy price rises and inflationary pressures, LiveWest has increased its support to help its most vulnerable customers.
Its Tenancy Sustainment team has made 3,100 customer referrals in the last year, which has resulted in additional support and advice to more than 400 customers from its Energy Awareness Officer, issuing £16,000 of energy vouches in conjunction with the Winter Hardship Fund and the award of 944 grants primarily for food and utilities.
Paul added: “We recognise we are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis and the focus of our development programme is very much on providing warm homes that people can afford to live in.
“We are committed to supporting our customers facing financial difficulties and have put in place a Tenancy Support Fund, which is available for those who are experiencing financial challenges.
“Our priority is to ensure that our most vulnerable customers have been able to get the support they need.”
LiveWest’s investment plans over the next five years will sustain 6,000 jobs in the building and supply chain, protecting livelihoods and offering fresh opportunities. LiveWest is the one of the region’s largest employers with more than 1,700 skilled and enthusiastic staff and currently has more than 50 apprentices working across the organisation.
