CIH CONFERENCE Shifting policy for housing associations means they are going to have to start developing more land, move away from section 106 contracts from private housebuilding schemes and develop more in partnership.
Jane Gallifent, director of development and sales at Aster, said it was planning to develop 10,000 homes over the next seven years and, as a result, it needed to rebalance towards land-led opportunities, rather than section 106s.
“We are going out and taking greater risk, but calculating and analysing that,” she said. “There is a different gear change to where housing associations are moving.”
Gallifent said the challenges of buying and developing land could be mitigated through partnerships with the private sector. Aster currently has two joint ventures with Galliford Try: White Rock and Boorley Green.
Vicky Savage, executive director of development at Network Homes, said it also wanted to grow, “It is part of our responsibility to provide the greatest good for the greatest number,” she said.
Savage added that Network was looking at new funding, government tie-ups, increasing operational efficiency and partnerships.
“If we want to do more in partnership, we can… Because of the risks involved in development, you can all bring something out of the pot,” she said.
However, Savage cautioned that a model more reliant on private development meant that a healthy sales market was essential.
Kate Ives, development director at Wates Residential, said there needs to be an alignment of interest between different players.
“Keep it really simple; overcomplicating housing delivery makes it harder for everyone to understand,” she said.
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