How Home Group is protecting the long-term future of Cumbria

It is why housing association Home Group remains firmly committed to the ‘local occupancy’ planning policies established by the Lake District National Park authorities.

In operation in areas across the region where high house prices and second home ownership have become a norm, these policies ensure that new affordable housing instead goes to young people and those who need it from the towns where it is built, by guaranteeing it is allocated to those who live or work locally.

As a large provider of housing, care and support across Cumbria, Home Group sees these types of policy as vital to ensure local communities stay together and local talent isn’t lost.

By limiting who is allocated the new affordable housing, it also works to increase the overall quality of new social housing in the region. High quality new homes aren’t lost to the highest bidder and instead provide the opportunity for those with local need can settle down roots.

For example, Home Group recently delivered a number of affordable new homes in Bassenthwaite near Keswick. Framed by Skiddaw, these modern, energy efficient homes were highly desirable but were all allocated to people from the nearby communities through the local occupancy policy.

Now, these local people can continue to grow and live in the community they know, with stunning views out across the Bassenthwaite valley.

Protecting that natural environment remains equally important to people across Cumbria too, and for Home Group it is no different.

When building these new affordable homes, there are large areas of the region where the housing association is required to meet nutrient neutrality requirements.

Building new homes can add new or additional minerals and nutrients to the soil and natural landscape, which in some areas of the region could affect the delicate balance. As such, these government regulations require builders to offset these imbalances within the same area affected.

Home Group for example is working on developing a number of new social homes in Appleby, where the work is subject to these regulations.

To ensure it meets the requirements, the housing association acquired a large site of land which it has committed long-term to rewild and support the natural ecosystem.

But it is not just about ticking the boxes and doing the minimum required by the regulations. Many of Home Group’s colleagues live and work in Cumbria too and are just as proud of the natural landscapes around them.

As such, the housing association has planned with the long-term future in mind when selecting this type of land, what is done with it and crucially how it will support the local communities in the future too, supporting further future homes to be delivered for local people too.

This also coincides with retrofit work ongoing across Cumbria to ensure that our existing customers benefit in their homes too, helping to make them more energy efficient and save customers money on their bills.

As a large organisation locally, Home Group regularly sees firsthand the challenges facing customers and local people, and it is vitally important that steps are taken to ensure those communities continue to be supported long into the future.