Overview

Our partners include local authorities, landed estates, Government bodies, Homes England and investment funds.

Why are they important?

Working with the right partners which value quality and legacy is critical to establishing the alignment which underpins the promotion and delivery of large scale sites.

What do they want from us?

Who are they?

Methods of engagement

We have both structured and informal engagement with our partners during the year. Each partnership has a formal reporting mechanism with regular meetings to review progress, discuss options and agree strategy. These are then supplemented with informal updates, site visits and opportunities to share observed best practice. The Board is able to track the progress of these partnerships via our strong linear development and risk reporting and is kept apprised of partner issues and requirements.

How we engaged in the year

This year saw the conclusion of a very successful partnership at Waterbeach following our acquisition from the Ministry of Defence of its interest in that project. We marked the completion of the deal with the final Project Execution Group meeting on site and were able to review the extensive progress we had made together. We look forward to welcoming back all those involved as Waterbeach reaches further significant milestones. We have also strengthened our relationships within our new partnerships, such as that for Baldock with Hertfordshire County Council, by hosting its members and senior officers on site at Houlton. Regular Project Board and review meetings have taken place throughout the year with all parties involved in key decision making and business plan approvals. Given the increase in interest rates, the decision has been made on a number of projects to repay a proportion of Homes England loan funding and we have kept its senior team fully apprised of our strategy.

Outcomes 

The long-term alignment sought and earned through our partnerships has been evident in the way in which decisions have been taken during the course of the year. Clear communication and strong project knowledge have allowed us to collectively update business plans to accommodate changing economic circumstances. In the case of the Ministry of Defence we have also been able to accelerate project returns by acquiring its interest taking on the development risk going forward.