We invested £51m and delivered 124 new eco-friendly homes last year

Delivering homes we are proud of and improving lives is what we are all about and we are delighted to have invested £51 million and built 124 new affordable, sustainable homes in the financial year 2023/2024 to tackle the shortage locally.

In addition, 324 homes across 11 projects are already on site in Oldham, Rochdale and Kirklees and we will be completing 224 homes in 2024/2025 – all helping us increase supply of good quality new homes that meet housing need today and are fit for the future.

Between April 2023 and the end of March 2024, our ongoing investment combined with funding from Homes England and successful partnerships with developers and housebuilders have helped us keep up delivery of contemporary, low carbon, mixed-tenure houses and apartments.

We have continued with our brownfield-first approach and brought forward a mix of 58 homes for affordable rent, 54 for shared ownership and 12 for rent-to-buy across Oldham, Rochdale and Kirklees to help meet housing need and make home ownership possible for more people.

Our focus remains to build great, new, future-proof homes that are better for the environment and affordable to run.

All new homes are built to a minimum EPC B standard and we are combining modern methods of construction with a fabric first approach to sustainability and low carbon alternatives to gas where possible to help us build high quality, green homes with less waste, at a faster rate.

To achieve our goals, successful partnership working has been key. We have strengthened existing relationships with KMM Homes, Caddick Construction, Holcombe Homes, Friday Club Developments  and Tyson Construction; and developed new ones with regional developers including Lancet Homes, Challenger Building Services, Beardwell Developments and Armstrong Projects.

Through section 106 agreements, we have partnered with major housebuilders Lovell Homes, Kellen Homes, Persimmon Homes and Worth Homes to accelerate delivery of new, family properties in the Rochdale and Kirklees areas to make a difference to local people.

Reflecting on the past year, Joel Owen our Director of Development said: “With the ongoing housing crisis and a push to get to net zero carbon, we are pleased to have had another strong year of delivery with our partners – enabling us to provide more desperately needed, affordable sustainable housing for people who need it.

“High house prices in the area continue to impact on affordability, and we hear from our customers what a difference products like shared ownership and rent-to-buy make to those who want to get a foot on the property ladder. By offering a choice of tenures, as we are doing, we can help make home ownership an option for more people.

“In this financial year, we are looking to keep up this good work with a focus on maximising the supply of affordable, sustainable homes in Oldham and surrounding areas, aligned with housing need and the upcoming Future Homes Standard to help us keep on achieving great outcomes for residents.”