V10 acquired the land in 2024 and delivered this a package deal to Stonewater in collaboration with Burmor Construction. The scheme is located in the highly desirable village of Terrington St Clements, Norfolk.

Meeting local housing needs

Stonewater’s values strongly align with V10’s objectives to provide additional affordable homes where possible to address the surrounding demands of local housing needs in village locations such as Terrington St Clements. Moving forward our client will be seeking permission to provide a wholly affordable mixed tenure residential development for 76x new units. The mix of properties will consist of one, two, three and four bedroom homes across several tenures to cater for the broad demographic demand for much needed affordable family homes within the borough.

Desirable street scenes in keeping with the rural setting.

The proposed sustainable community has been designed in such a manner that facades are to be afforded with architectural features to reflect the appearance of surrounding properties which will look comfortably appropriate in this rural setting. This will be achieved using a carefully selected palette of external materials which replicate the nearby countryside properties providing a sense of eye pleasing interest within the developments street scenes.

Coupled with the above the scheme will contain feature house types in key focal locations which have decorative frontages and enhanced glazing features providing kerb appeal throughout.

Countryside aspects with enhanced amenity for leisure and play

The site benefits from aspects over open countryside with properties being thoughtfully configured to enjoy these views. Many mature trees are to be retained along the wooded boundaries of Benns Lane and Northgate Way providing privacy and a green haven to gardens areas. A large swathe of on -site open space will be located abutting the Southern boundary which will incorporate a new meandering footway to provide connectivity to the local road network and surrounding development. Within this green hub a childrens play area and feature seating will also be accommodated for residents and children to relax and enjoy these outdoor amenities.

Added sustainability initiatives to meet our goals

Alongside the open space and trees to be preserved there are number of additional sustainable initiatives that align with V10’s values. In this regard a new enhanced planting bund between the farmhouse, existing businesses and development site will be formed to create a green landscaped belt to provide screening to properties and to act as a partial buffer against adjacent noises.

In order to contain and attenuate ground water, permeable paving and a SUDS pond feature will be incorporated into the scheme providing sustainable drainage measures.All properties are to be provided with cycle sheds to encourage active travel by bicycle and air source heat pumps are to be provided throughout as a form of non-fossil fuel heating.

Modern Methods Of Construction

In delivering the scheme to Stonewater modern methods of construction have been considered to be potentially adopted which aligns with V10’s core sustainability value. Our contractor of choice are experts in this field of approach and we are working closely with their team to assess the options available to them to move forward on this basis. Consideration is being given to highly insulated closed timber panels which are to be built off site in a controlled factory environment and installed on site to form the wall system to properties contained within the development. The benefit of this approach minimises the time and energy spent on the scheme proposals whilst also reducing pollution and disruption at site level to the surrounding neighbourhood. Waste can also be controlled and reduced more easily when applying the uses of repetitive MMC processes and installations. The overall aim being to create energy efficient sustainable homes keeping bills low for occupants. At the time of writing it remains our goal here at V10 to be at the forefront of all sustainable methods of construction with a view to guiding all our contracting partners to operate this way and join us on this journey.

News Story written by John Stainton

At the end of 2023 I as invited for the second time to present V10 to a new cohort of young developers at the The Developers Club in Mayfair.

The Developers Club

As previously, I was intrigued to gauge the entrepreneurial spirit in the room –  after all, without that ingredient no business can start, flourish or survive. TDC is a group of residential developers under the age of forty who own and manage their own businesses from all over the UK. They are all serving specialist residential niche markets and have adopted various business models, each sharing common opportunities and challenges. The aim of the group is to cross-fertilise ideas and best practice whilst harnessing the experience of those developers with longer tooths. It’s a potent approach driving forward the speed of each company’s continuous improvement and commercial evolution. This is an important catalyst to the group as collectively they have committed to delivering 10,000 new homes by 2030 to address the housing crisis – a laudable mission!

Entrepreneurial Talent

It became clear straight away that this new group were also highly informed and very professional. There was also that X factor feeling in the audience – that energy – that passion. I started my presentation with a flashback to 1969 – the first moment when I made a profit reselling Christmas wrapping paper to my neighbours at the age of five – then we moved on to 1971 when I got into the property game – Monopoly! Fast forward 50+ years and here I am with a business based in London delivering over 1,000 homes to seven housing associations in nine locations. It is the same for all those in TDC – each juggling the needs of their customers, investors, employees, suppliers and themselves whilst exploiting market advantages and avoiding overwhelming risk to maintain and grow their business volumes to meet the aims of TDC. After the presentation it was clear from the penetrative nature of the questioning, that these young developers had the spirit, the swagger, the level headedness and open mindedness to learn, apply and achieve.

Against The Odds

Each professional in that room are facing a myriad of challenges which many of us in development have never seen staked up against us all at one time; high mortgage rates, faltering sales rates, declining house prices, runaway build cost inflation, galloping building regulation changes coupled with a chaotic and sclerotic ‘not fit for purpose’ planning system. All these constraints to getting supply into the market to meet the inexorable rise on the demand side. Yet despite these combined headwinds these young developers are taking it all in their stride and overcoming it all – a true testament to their entrepreneurial spirit. I take my hat(s) off to them!

Comments by:

Karl Timberlake

Land & New Business Director

V10

At the peaks and troughs of a business cycle the participants in an industry sector either see risk or opportunity. So how should not for-profit Registered Providers (RP’s) respond to the current conditions in the housing market?

Overheating to Stability

Remember this time last year, summer 2022. The property market was hotter than the proverbial tin roof! The impact of the first interest rate rise in February 2022 had not taken effect. Now economists say it takes 18 months for such increases to show fruits and on cue in August 2023 The Guardian announced:

“UK house prices fell 5.3% in August compared with the same month last year, the fastest annual drop in 14 years, according to Nationwide Building Society.”

However, look under the bonnet. Hometrack reported in August 2023:

“Affordability is improving relative to earnings as wages rise, up 7% over the last year. Housing affordability, on a house price to earnings basis, looks set to improve by 9-10% over 2023 as prices register modest falls and average earnings increase.

The UK house price to earnings ratio will be in line with the 20-year average at the end of 2023 at 6.3x. On a regional basis, affordability has improved the most in London. Here, the price to earnings ratio will get into single digits for the first time in 11 years as house price growth has been low since 2016.

We expect earnings to continue to rise faster than house prices again in 2024, improving the measure further, especially in southern England. This, together with mortgage rates in the 4-5% range, will support sales volumes closer to the long-run average”

Hometrack also reported annual price falls in London, South East and East of England of 1%, 0.9% and 1% respectively. Hardly a crash and barely a ‘correction’. However, we have not reached the peak impact moment for interest rates which will flow through until the end of 2024. For now, the market looks set to be subdued and stable as opposed to manic – a good thing I suppose!

Opportunity

What has changed radically is sentiment. Sentiment in the private housing building sector – the for-profit sector – particularly the volume housebuilders (VHB’s).

Faced with significant drops in sales rates many have adjusted their output of homes to defend their profit and cash positions. Inevitably their need for immediate consented land has significantly reduced leading to (quiet) redundancies in land teams, withdrawals from deals (including those contracted on) or land prices being chipped or deferred. Smaller regional and local developers are also being cautious on the land buying front being part of the same herd mentality. Overall developers are being less gung-ho about land purchases but it is still competitive. Agents and landowners are no longer sure whether a VHB will perform.

RP’s are now seen as the new Steady Eddie’s in the land market – well funded, enhanced grant regimes – in continuous need of development land to deliver for those with a housing need – it’s a big number. RP’s have also benefited from the demise of the Help to Buy scheme which has propped up the VHB’s since 2013. Now shared ownership has filled that gap and many RP’s are experiencing new levels of reservations – even in this market! Furthermore, in London there has been a significant increase in grant rates for ‘social rent’ product which is making schemes in the capital viable and more risk free from sales related exposure. Social rent has also had a grant boost from Homes England but the impact of that has been less impressive than in London.

Coupled with the above build costs are reported to have flatlined – having been through a period of rampant inflation. Planning consents should increase after the nutrient neutrality matter was settled.

So, from an RP’s point of view the moment has arrived to fulfil their missions – deliver a range of affordable homes for those on low to medium incomes. There is now less competition for land, build costs are stable, the grant regime allows for the viable delivery of more rented product (not susceptible to the market) and shared ownership demand is more robust than ever.

We’re ready to make hay with you.

V10 is perfectly placed to deliver package deals to the RP sector. We specialise in delivering off-market land coupled with a competent build contractor – both with fixed prices and completely derisked – the full service.

If you are in an RP with development ambitions in the current market then we want to be by your side. Call us.

Comments by: Karl Timberlake, Land & New Business Director at V10.

So, as I am sat in Starbucks with an iced drink and 30 degree sun on my back, not bad for little old England, I am reflecting on the my recent back to college experience.

Having graduated from Long Road Sixth form college just over 10 years ago I had the pleasure in being invited to return to speak to students about my career and what the construction industry can offer students, like it did myself 10 years ago. Did I succeed in inspiring… I hope so.

My Journey

Did I ever see myself going into construction all those years ago, leaving college and having university offers ready to go, one summer really decided it all.

I had spent the three years at sixth form studying, as well as leading the southeast Conservative association, being the youngest leader and Parish Councillor in the country.

My last year of college I finally decided to stand for election as a District Councillor, for me the first step on the political ladder of what I had hoped would be a long and successful political career. To keep things short and simple, I lost the local election by 90 votes and it caused me to re-evaluate my situation and, having looked long and hard, if I had any political ambition in the future, then a career would be the best and most authentic approach to take to be taken seriously and to have some more life experience.

Why construction I hear you ask. Well truthfully, I fell into it via the governments apprenticeship programme. As a Business Administrator onsite, I fell in love with the industry even more than I had in Spain as an apprentice electrician at Sevillana. I had a Construction Director and Contracts Manager that nurtured me and helped me grow, while letting me onsite to snag works and manage minor aspects of the build. The rest as they say is history… well as I told the students starting as a business administrator, then moving to Site Management, Contracts management, Pre-Construction Management, and to a Group role left me well-grounded and covered every aspect of the business. It taught me what key drivers the business needed, made me an effective and influential member of group, and taught me that nobody knows everything.

Coming Home

Having spoken to the course leaders and deputy head of the college they are wanting to teach and improve students understanding of sustainability and the impact it has over ever industry. After my presentation I was asked some great questions around nutrient neutrality, the impact of Biodiversity Net Gain, and what the new building regulations actually mean.

I also had the pleasure of setting the students the task of designing a three room student pod from Timber Frame, which in a months time, I will be returning to the College to look, judge, and give feedback on their project, which they are paying particular design focus, on fire, insulation, and ventilation.

The students we given the hierarchy structure of some of the top ten housebuilders, and what a day to day looks like with someone working in the industry.  The conveyance from me is that the people in these organisations, including here at V10 Homes, is that we are passionate about development; it’s like an itch you cannot scratch, the hamster wheel of development is always turning, once one is complete the next one isn’t far behind!

How does the industry benefit?

When I started my presentation to the to the students, I spoke about the skills gap in the construction industry and that there is more to the industry than trades, and site teams, there is a whole team of people from architects to quantity surveyors, that all play a vital role in delivering much needed homes in the UK. Less and less students are turning to professions within the industry, as they see no benefits for them, and the industry is seen as a dirty industry, cold and wet, long hours. While the hours can be long, and the onsite staff (including trades) do get wet and cold, there is also a misnomer that these a low paying career options, that are not viable to live on, which is simply untrue, and that the way the workforce has shifted, especially since Covid, has made the workforce more modern with dress codes and hour flexibility. The use of technology is coming to the forefront, Teams, BIM, and many other project management tools make for an exciting time to be in the industry.

My passion and love of development will always be there, go around new towns and developments that I help start, manage, or finish is a source of great pride and I hope that came through to inspire the future of our industry!

• Photo shows Keiran Wakley, V10’s Head of Pre-Construction & Sustainability, inspiring future constructors.

Last week V10 were delighted to have two “A” level students attend our London offices to observe and shadow the internal workings of the company.

Both students are considering a career in development and are in the process of choosing their educational paths to start such a journey. James and Sam have clear, but different visions on which bachelor’s and master’s degree courses they wish to pursue and their experience at V10 was meant to enable them to shape those choices.

Accurate Appraisals

Karl and John, V10’s main Directors, set the students a number of tasks. Each task was a building block to completing a development appraisal. However, first the students’ attended V10’s weekly land and project meeting. In the meeting the team reviewed thirteen projects with a combined potential pipeline of 1320x homes located in eight London boroughs and counties. This exercise illuminated the extensive due diligence that the V10 team undertakes on every project; detailed market research using Hometrack, reviewing technical reports and assessing abnormal issues, s106 and CIL cost and relief reviews, RP and contractor partner considerations – all this ahead of finalising V10’s ProVal appraisal – to see if the project is commercially viable and whether it can be optimised to achieve such. V10 prides itself on cherry picking projects to work on for its RP partners with the highest probability rates of success from the outset.

Building Blocks of Development

James and Sam were set the task of valuing 90+ homes in Leicestershire and set about calculating the average £’s per sqft that might be achievable of each house type. Next, they reviewed an s106 document to extract and calculate the s106 contributions. Finally, having reviewed the Design and Access Statement they were able to spot some of the site constraints and issues which ultimately V10’s pre-construction team would need to identify for costing purposes. At the end of the process V10’s ProVal appraisal was demonstrated to James and Sam where they saw the impact of the accuracy of their work in altering the projected land value.

Karl Timberlake commented;

“Upon arrival at the office James and Sam were evidently two very bright and polite students, so, John and I decided to throw them completely in at the deep end.

They showed a clear grasp of the figures and their interrelationship’s including some of the jargon such as GDV. Further, without any training they were able to identify some key development issues. A great start for two people hitherto without any experience in the industry!

Hopefully James and Sam picked upon on the V10 team’s passion to deliver more affordable homes and also the need for accuracy at the appraisal stage and integrity in one’s business dealings. I would add that we might want to adopt James and Sam as our lucky mascots as whilst they were with us we agreed terms on another deal!”

On behalf of them both, James subsequently commented:

“I really appreciate the time and effort that you both put in to helping Sam and I get a really good overview of what V10 does and a better insight into the affordable housing sector. It was particularly interesting to see how the land valuation software works and to realise how technical that process is.

I was particularly impressed by V10s values and commitment towards sustainability. I found it very interesting when you said  prioritising the affordable housing sector was V10’s niche and whilst it does not offer the greatest short term returns, it has given V10 a strong reputation with regard to ethics and commitment to improving living standards for all.

I am very grateful for you putting up with my many questions, I hope we weren’t too much of a distraction, especially as you were so busy. We really appreciated how open you were with us – the experience has definitely fired up my interest in the residential housing sector.”

• The photo shows James and Sam (left and right in the foreground) attending a meeting with V10’s external consultants.

Head of Land & New Business

V10 is a leading and reputable provider of package deals to the RP sector. We currently have over 1200 homes placed in our customers development pipelines. With our RP and construction partners we enable the delivery of additional affordable homes to those with need. This is why V10 exists. We are looking for a dynamic person to join our growing professional team to deliver on our current business plan and shape the next one. Do you have the drive, ambition, energy and entrepreneurial flair to make things happen where others flounder or fail in development? If so, read on.

Position:

The Head of Land and New Business will work directly with the Land and New Business Director. First and foremost you will assist in sourcing suitable off-market development land within key geographical areas that support the growth of the business. Working alongside our RP customers and our in-house dynamic pre-construction team you will appraise and shape commercially optimal schemes to achieve a competitive position in the land market. After agreeing Head of Terms with a land seller and a package deal with our RP customers you will manage the legal process to completion.

Within this role you will:

1. Build strong long-term relationships with agents, landowners, promoters and RP’s to acquire sites and procure new package deals for V10.
2. Need to be able to cold call land prospects and RP contacts and show persistence.
3. Undertake quantitative and qualitative market research and understand the needs of a home buyer and localised housing demand. An agency background would be an advantage.
4. Undertake and optimise appraisals (ideally using ProVal)
5. Produce commercial viabilities prior to a land offer
6. Assess land opportunities thoroughly and make recommendations to the team based on sound commercial judgement.
7. Make land offers and diligently negotiate terms
8. Qualify RP package offers and agree terms
9. Manage the legal process from HOT’s to completion alongside the pre-construction team who will be managing the linked JCT.
10. Manage and prioritise all the above workstreams simultaneously.

What you’ll need:

• Excellent and proven negotiation and communication skills
• Demonstrate an understanding and experience of the development process across a range of building and tenure types.
• Demonstrate an understanding of RP funding and grant funding opportunities.
• Comprehensive understanding of the financial elements of development projects and their impact on scheme viability.
• Experience of using development appraisal software
• Strong commercial awareness and risk management skills.
• Excellent financial and project management skills
• A strong understanding of both the land sale and the acquisition process including knowledge of options, contracts and various deeds.
• Have a clear understanding of the planning process.
• Appropriate land experience within a developer, RP or housebuilder
• Be eager to keep all stakeholders, internal and external to V10 updated in realtime
• Have ambition for yourself and the team and a positive attitude to succeed.
• An ability to use digital media to promote yourself alongside V10.
• Above all else you’ll need the abilities and mindset of a ‘dealer’ coupled with a keen eye for detail and an ability to anticipate commercial consequences

For more information and details of this highly renumerate and flexible package please email Karl Timberlake (Land & New Business Director) at [email protected]

V10 is pleased to announce the collaborative delivery of a new sustainable community situated off Northgate Way in the rural village of Terrington St Clement for Stonewater HA.

As dynamic operators in the land led package deal industry, V10 has successfully delivered a key development site enabling our client RP to expand its operational patch into Kings Lynn and Norfolk. The pre-construction and planning matters associated with the project have been robustly de-risked and worked through in unison with our long standing partner contractor Burmor Construction and their architects of choice Swann Edwards.

Meeting local housing needs

Stonewater’s values strongly align with V10’s objectives to provide additional affordable homes where possible to address the surrounding demands of local housing needs in village locations such as Terrington St Clements. Moving forward our client will be seeking permission to provide a wholly affordable mixed tenure residential development for 76 new units. The mix of properties will consist of one, two, three and four bedroom homes that are shared ownership, social rent, affordable rent and rent-to-buy to catering for the broad demographic of the area providing much needed affordable family homes within the borough.

Local vernacular nuances to create design interest within street scenes

The proposed sustainable community has been designed in such a manner that facades are to be afforded with architectural features to reflect the appearance of surrounding properties which will look comfortably appropriate in this rural setting. This will be achieved using a carefully selected palette of external materials which replicate the nearby countryside properties providing a sense of eye pleasing interest within the developments street scenes.

Coupled with the above the scheme will contain feature house types in key focal locations which have decorative frontages and enhanced glazing features providing kerb appeal throughout.

Creating countryside aspects and enhanced amenity for leisure and play

The site benefits from views across open countryside with properties being configured to enjoy such aspects. Many mature trees are to be retained along the wooded boundaries of Benns Lane and Northgate Way providing privacy and a green haven to gardens areas. A large swathe of on-site open space will be located abutting the Southern boundary which will incorporate a new meandering footway to provide connectivity to the local road network and surrounding development. Within this green hub a child’s play area and feature seating will also be accommodated for residents and children to relax and enjoy these outdoor amenities.

Added sustainability initiatives

Alongside the open space and trees to be preserved there are number of additional sustainable initiatives that align with V10’s values. In this regard a new enhanced planting bund between the farmhouse, existing businesses and development site will be formed to create a green landscaped belt to provide screening to properties and to act as a partial buffer against adjacent noises.

In order to contain and attenuate ground water, permeable paving and a SUDS pond feature will be incorporated into the scheme providing sustainable drainage measures. All properties are to be provided with cycle sheds to encourage active travel by bicycle and air source heat pumps are to be provided throughout as a form of non-fossil fuel heating.

Modern Methods Of Construction

In delivering the scheme to Stonewater modern methods of construction are to be adopted which aligns with V10’s core sustainability value. Our contractor of choice Burmor Construction are experts in this field of approach and have assessed the options available to them to move forward on this basis. Highly insulated closed timber panels are to be built off site in a controlled factory environment and installed to form the wall system to properties contained within the scheme on site. The benefit of this approach minimises the time and energy spent on site whilst also reducing pollution and disruption at site level to the surrounding neighbourhood. Waste can also be controlled and reduced more easily when applying the uses of repetitive MMC processes and installations. The overall aim being to create energy efficient sustainable homes keeping bills low for occupants.

At the time of writing consideration is being given to how best to achieve a 55% pre-manufactured value using other offsite techniques and components. We hope to be able to report on this criteria being hit as V10 remain keen to be at the forefront of all sustainable methods of construction with a view to guiding all our contracting partners to operate this way and join us on this journey.

V10 is pleased to report on the advancing progress of a new sustainable community situated in St Ives for settle group housing association.

As active collaborators operating in the land led package deal sector, the company has successfully delivered this key development site enabling our client RP to expand its operational patch into Cambridgeshire. The strict parameters of the delivery costs of the works were diligently analysed and adhered to with all pre planning and construction matters also being de-risked in unison with Burmor Construction, our delivery partner of choice. Following demolition of the former VW car sales premises, construction of the site infrastructure is forging ahead as our recent drone footage and aerial imagery demonstrates.

Recognising local housing needs

The settle group’s values accord with V10’s aspirations to provide additional affordable homes where possible to meet the surrounding demand in outskirt locations such as St Ives. Moving forward our client has sought to provide a wholly 100% affordable mixed tenure development for 94 new units in total. The mix of properties will consist of 30 new homes made up of two and three bed units, together with 64 one and two bed apartments spread over a series of low rise blocks. The tenures to properties being introduced across the scheme will be for affordable rent and shared ownership which recognises and supports local housing needs.

Well considered design to create interesting facades and eye pleasing street scenes

The proposed sustainable community has been designed in such a manner that facades are to be treated using a palette of high-grade quality materials containing subtle brick detailing design features throughout. Generous glazing proportions and high spec roofing materials add to the kerb appeal of properties with contrasting brickwork frontages creating interest in the eye pleasing street scenes. As the scheme develops further these will all be captured using drone footage. In the meantime, the CG Imagery contained within the project page of our website does the development justice in terms of its exemplar design.

An abundance of amenity spaces to rest and relax within

The site benefits from generously proportioned communal landscaped areas which have been carefully planned throughout the development to provide opportunities for rest and relaxation.

Contained within these amenity zones are pathways, play spaces and enhanced planting areas to create new habitats for wildlife including a revitalised pond. Properties are configured close to these spaces having easy on the doorstep access to such whilst having the added advantage of aspects across these green swathes.

As part of the flood mitigation measures, the scheme provides residents with an attractive elevated boardwalk which forms a safe means of escape in the event of flooding.

Delivering and sustaining biodiversity 

Mature established trees are to be retained around the existing pond contained within the site to sustain bird and bat life. Coupled with this it is planned to further extend the pond area as an amenity feature for residents to enjoy views across from carefully planned seating zones.

To support environmental performance and biodiversity throughout the site there is also a requirement to provide green roofs to strategic properties within the development.

Modern methods of construction

Closed panel timber frame construction methods are being used to deliver the properties within the development, allowing for a fast and accurate build programme with a precision product from a factory-controlled environment to minimise waste. This method also offers exceptional accuracy and demonstrable sustainability through high levels of thermal efficiency and air tightness performance all which aligns with V10’s sustainable values.

V10 is pleased to report on the hive of activity which is underway at the Clacton-on-Sea site which was realised in collaboration with Home Group and our local contracting partner EJ Taylor.

Drone footage taken from a recent site visit shows works on this 132x plot scheme advancing with great impetus towards the delivery of a new sustainable community set within the Essex coastline for our RP client. As respected operators in the land led package deal industry V10 successfully un-locked this sizeable development opportunity within Home Group’s key operational patch and show homes are planned for an Autumn opening, following the procurement of major complex groundworks.

Here at V10 we specialise in resolving legal, planning and pre-construction matters associated with projects to be brought on stream for our Housing Association partners. Our in-house expertise has again enabled us to diligently de-risk a number of challenging technical issues in unison with EJ Taylors to ensure the site remained within the budget parameters available.

Much needed affordable housing

Home Groups values strongly accord with V10’s objectives to provide additional affordable homes where possible to meet the surrounding demand in costal locations such as Clacton-on-Sea. Moving forward, our client has elected to provide a wholly affordable mixed tenure residential development for 132 new units in total. The mix of properties will consist of one, two, three and four bedroom homes that are for shared ownership and affordable rent – to support local housing needs in the surrounding catchment.

Essex vernacular to provide kerb appeal.

The proposed sustainable community has been designed to ensure facades are to be afforded with architectural features to reflect the appearance of the surrounding vernacular of properties. Coupled with this, the scheme aligns with the criteria set out in the Essex Design Code providing ample garden and driveway sizing to all plots. Adding interest to street scenes, the scheme will contain feature house types in key focal locations which have decorative frontages and enhanced glazing features to gables providing kerb appeal throughout.

Big skies and countryside views

The site gently undulates to provide views at its top edge across open countryside with lower situated properties being configured to enjoy aspects across the generously proportioned open space area containing leisure pathways, play and ecological zones for the new community to enjoy. Much of the established hedgerows are to be retained along the existing boundaries and these will be bolstered further to create a green haven for wildlife habitats.

Delivering biodiversity and sustainability initiatives

Alongside the open space and hedgerows to be preserved there are number of additional sustainable initiatives that align with V10’s values. In this regard, a new enhanced ecological planting zone is to be created within the site to enhance biodiversity. Prior to construction commencing, wildlife species were trapped and translocated as part of an approved mitigation strategy with the LA which has now been completed.

Addressing potential flood issues, a robust drainage strategy has been formulated. In order to contain and attenuate ground water, permeable paving, swales and a large SUDS pond feature have been incorporated into the scheme providing sustainable drainage measures. These are now in place within the POS zone and can be clearly seen from the aerial footage captured by our team showing the development in its rural settling with the coastline a pebbles’ throw away!

V10 prides itself on being an affordable homes developer – creating homes for those on low to middle incomes – thus changing life chances.

Pledges

One of V10’s three sustainability pledges is to ‘increase the delivery of affordable homes above statutory s106 levels’. This means we actively engage with Registered Providers whose intention is to convert outright sale tenures to various affordable tenures, thus creating ‘additional affordable’ homes.

The Glenvale Park scheme in Wellingborough is currently under construction for Stonewater. Our recent visit showed the immense progress that our contractor partner has made recently with infrastructure and foundations powering ahead – which gives V10 great delight in meeting our pledges quickly.

Affordable Tenures

This will be a 100% affordable scheme with four tenures; social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership and rent to buy. The housing need figures released in March 2023 show that in Wellingborough in the last assessed annual period, the number of households with a housing need fell by only eight or 1.75% to 338. Hopefully this scheme of 148 homes once complete will make a major contribution to accelerating the satisfaction of such need locally.

But what are these tenures and why are they affordable? It can require a complex answer but in simple terms:

• Social Rent: Using a government formula these are usually around 50% of the market rent – referred to as target rent.
• Affordable Rent: Closely linked to Local Housing Allowance levels, these are usually around 80% of market rent.
• Rent to Buy: This is a transitional tenure allowing the occupant to save a deposit (over 5 years typically) and convert from renting to shared ownership. To enable such saving the rent is set at 80% of market rent.
• Shared Ownership: This enables a buyer to become a part homeowner starting with an entry level 10% share. A rent is paid proportional to the remaining equity held by the Housing Association. Over time the homeowner buys more shares and staircases out to full ownership in most cases with zero rent payable.

Real Lives

In the industry sector we sometimes use a lot of acronyms; AR, FH, SOS, SO, OS, PC, LC, LLR, LAR, RTB, BRMA, SR, SH to describe various aspects of development. However, the most important ones are FH, SH and PC. These represent the moment when those households with housing needs are finally met at First Handover, Sectional Handover and Practical Completion – and a sea of smiley faces heralds the beginning of those life chances – the reason V10 exists.