Ambition 3: Grow and influence to positively impact more lives
We’re determined to give as many people as possible a place to call home. Government figures released in February 2024* revealed that there are over 118,500 households on local authority housing waiting lists in the South East, and while we know there’s no quick fix to increasing the supply of more affordable homes to the extent needed, we’re totally committed to playing a significant part in making an impact and solving the issue.
"We're doing all we can to address the housing shortage including building homes for social and affordable rent and shared ownership to meet people's needs and circumstances. For us it's about building good quality homes across a range of tenures. In 2023-24 we delivered 1,524 new homes, making us one of the largest developers amongst housing associations in England and importantly, giving more people a place to call home and boosting economic growth in the region."
- Tristan Samuels, Group Development and New Business Director
More new affordable homes
This year we’ve delivered 1,524 new homes, the highest annual number since VIVID was formed in 2017. This makes us the fifth largest developer of new homes amongst housing associations in England, according to Inside Housing’s Biggest Builder’s survey 2024. Of the new homes completed, 371 are for social rent, with a further 509 for affordable rent and 522 for shared ownership.
We’re doing all we can to address the housing shortage and, in particular, build new affordable homes to give more people a home to suit their circumstances. Social rented homes are the most truly affordable option. However, we also understand the desires of those customers that want to own their own home, and there’s strong demand for our range of shared ownership homes giving people a choice to suit what they can afford. For us, it’s all about providing good quality homes across a range of tenures.
*Source: Figures relate to number of households on local authority housing waiting lists as of April 2023 (published February 2024). Available from DLUHC.
As part of our ambitious development programme, we're also on our third large-scale regeneration project in the space of 7 years. Find out more about our newest flagship regeneration project, Victory Quay in Portsmouth, where we’re creating a vibrant, new waterfront community with over 800 homes on a large, complex brownfield site.
Working collaboratively, we're creating thriving communities for people to live, work and play. Our strong partnerships, expertise and financial strength enable the scale of our development programme, which is vital to the supply of more new homes to people that need them and to boost the economic growth of the region.
As a Strategic Partner of Homes England, our total grant allocation to date is £295m, making us the single largest grant partner in the first round of the strategic partnership. This grant has enabled us to deliver even more homes for social rent.
Bargate Homes
Our subsidiary, Bargate Homes, is renowned for the high quality of its land supply and new homes in the central southern area. Bargate brings its expertise in land management and construction of quality, bespoke homes, which complements the skills of our team and our geography.
Together our capacity enables us to maintain the momentum of our ambitious housebuilding programme. We acquired Bargate in 2019 to accelerate the scale and influence we have to help address the housing crisis. To date not many housing associations have done this, and we believe it’s a great example of creativity and strategic decision-making to bring forward more much-needed affordable homes.
A sustainable business partner
Working to a robust sustainability strategy - and by proactively enhancing energy performance - is helping us on our journey to deliver the Future Homes Standard. We're working together with Bargate on this shared vision now and for the future.
This includes enhancing the sustainability of our procurement decisions, to make sure we not only work with like-minded businesses, but also ensure throughout each stage of the development process we are as environmentally considerate as possible.
Biodiverse developments
With every new development, we seek to deliver meaningful biodiversity net gains. This includes proactive ecological enhancements, such as tree and shrub planting, new green infrastructure, hedgehog highways and habitats for local reptiles. This commitment also goes one step further aiming to provide ecology boxes to each home where possible; these include nesting boxes, bat boxes and bee bricks.
Bargate's developments have sustainable urban drainage features, with an emphasis upon wet features, where possible, to provide the most effective natural landscaped drainage solutions, and additional wildlife and biodiversity benefits.
Working with a wide range of partners
To deliver our successful development programme we are proud of the strong partnerships we have with a wide range of private developers and local authority partners, as the following examples demonstrate.
Hamblewood, Hedge End
We’re delighted to be developing 81 new homes in Hedge End with Bargate. These homes overlook ancient woodland with direct links to the adjoining Manor Farm Country Park and banks of the River Hamble. With only a short drive to the M27, Hamblewood is well connected to nearby towns and cities including, Southampton, Fareham and Winchester.
