Overview: managing our assets
We make sure our properties retain their value and are fit for the future. If a property becomes too expensive to maintain or no longer attractive to residents, we undertake the best course of action – for example, sell, refurbish or demolish and rebuild – to achieve the best value for money and resident satisfaction.
We continually review our assets to make sure our homes meet people's changing needs, and create increased financial value within our business. We achieved a 3.87% year-on-year increase in our average property net present value and 85% of our residents are satisfied with the quality of their homes (STATUS Survey 2009).
Asset management: project examples
Sometimes it is better to build long-term relationships with the community than seek short-term commercial gain. That is why we recently saved St Donats House, an Edwardian property in Newbury. Though not listed, its historic and architectural merit led us to keep and refurbish it. We made the apartments available to younger people, to help them access affordable housing. To provide much-needed family homes in the town centre, behind St Donats House we also built 12 new apartments, and nine three-bedroom homes in two three-storey town houses. The neighbouring residents association supported us from start to finish, influencing the design and helping the project through the planning system.
Where an old bedsit scheme once stood in Play Platt, Theale, we built 21 brand new affordable two and three bedroom homes in a small block of flats. We made them available for rent and for New Build HomeBuy.
At Cleveland Place in Christchurch we have replaced 18 unpopular flats with 39 family homes, all of which meet Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, and 12 of which will be available for New Build HomeBuy.
When we saw a need for two specialist new homes for people with physical disabilities, we worked with Newbury Town Council to identify a suitable site and specify a design for the properties; West Berkshire Council to achieve planning permission; and the Housing Corporation to help meet funding costs.
The outcome of this partnership was that we transformed a former play area in Western End, Newbury, which had become an attraction for drug users, into two state-of-the-art dormer bungalows for physically disabled residents.
Working with the community to better manage our assets
Often, what is best for the local community, is best for our assets too.
The £70,000 needed to modernise Lea House a Victorian house in Bradfield Southend, did not present value for money; instead we approached the project as a joint venture with the local community. The funds they raised helped us to recreate their village store and post office in the same building as our five starter homes.
Members of the local community have shares in this venture, and they have formed their own committee to run and manage the village store themselves.
