Friday 27 July 2007
Record year for leading housing provider

Leading housing provider bpha delivered a record level of new affordable homes and ground-breaking community development initiatives during an award-winning year.

The association's latest annual report highlights its main achievements during 2006-07, including:

• Exceptional performance with its Key Communities partners in delivering the first year of a two-year £143 million development programme to help house people struggling to afford a home of their own
• The completion of the Government's £52 million Challenge Fund 2 schemes in Milton Keynes and Peterborough to provide 537 new affordable homes for local people, including key public sector workers
• New investment to strengthen community development activities to help residents across its area of operation make a difference to their neighbourhoods
• A national sustainable communities award from the National Black and New Communities Network in recognition of its work to create a real sense of community spirit in the new Arbury Park development north of Cambridge and at Mawsley Village near Kettering

The report was launched at bpha's annual conference for stakeholders and partners where David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, and John Lewis, English Partnerships' regional director for Eastern England and Milton Keynes, were guest speakers.

John Cross, chief executive of bpha, said: "Our new corporate purpose is about creating places people are proud of and we are delighted to say that we made significant progress toward achieving that goal. The conference was an excellent opportunity for us to report back to our stakeholders and also for them to hear about key national and regional issues at what is a critical time for the housing sector and its future direction."

This year's conference was held in Oxford to give delegates a chance to visit the £6.2 million Isis Care and Retirement Centre in Donnington. The centre, which provides some of the most modern care facilities in the UK, is the fifth high quality care home to have been built in as many years by the Oxfordshire Care Partnership as part of a £50 million programme to develop new residential and nursing care homes for older people across the county. Four further developments are in the pipeline.

The partnership is a joint venture between bpha and care charity The Orders of St John Care Trust, in conjunction with Oxfordshire County Council. Following the success in Oxfordshire, the partners have established a similar joint venture with Gloucestershire County Council, bringing the total value of the care partnerships' development programme to £100 million.

The conference also gave bpha the opportunity to present farewell gifts to its retiring chair Roger Whitbread, who has been succeeded by Stephen Hallett. John Cross made a presentation too to Nigel Stourton, retiring chair of The Orders of St John Care Trust.