What we do
whg named one of UK’s biggest builders
whg has been named one of the country’s biggest developers of social housing in a new survey released this week.
The leading Midlands landlord has been ranked at number 50 by trade publication Inside Housing in its top 50 biggest builders after completing 304 homes in 2022/2023. Of these 86 were affordable rent homes, 98 were social rent homes, 71 were shared ownership and 49 were for market sale.
whg came 29th when looking at the number of homes expected to be completed in 2023/24, with 686 homes in the pipeline.
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Corporate Director of Development, Rebecca Bennett Casserly, said: “With many housing associations looking to scale back their development commitments over the next few years due to rising prices and competing pressures, we are proud to be continuing our house building programme at pace.
“We have had a fantastic start to 2023. Our strong financial position, coupled with the excellent relationships we have with partners sets us in a good position to more than double our housing completions this year as we work towards our aim of building 2000 affordable homes by 2024.”
whg achieves international recognition as sustainability champion
A leading Midland housing provider has achieved international recognition for its commitment to making a positive environmental and social impact.
whg is among the first in the UK to be accredited as a sustainable housing provider by pan-European consultancy RITTERWALD.
The Certified Sustainable Housing Label was awarded following a rigorous assessment of various aspects of the business, including whg’s work within communities and drive to reduce its carbon footprint.
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whg, which owns and manages around 21,000 affordable homes across the Midlands, was particularly praised for its business-wide ‘carbon literacy’ training, designed to educate and inspire colleagues about the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The Certified Sustainable Housing Label reflects an organisation’s dedication to operating sustainably, being transparent and accountable, its contribution to society and environmental responsibility.
whg was given the highest rating as a ‘frontrunner’ for its social impact and ‘ambassador’ ranking both for its environmental credentials and the way it runs the business.
RITTERWALD concluded that whg had achieved “an excellent score”.
Its reports states: “whg proved deep commitment to sustainability, which exceeded the minimum requirements by far. It has undertaken a programme of events and engagement around carbon literacy to embed sustainability and engage all colleagues on this important issue.”
whg is also the first housing association to pilot RITTERWALD’s new Convene environmental, social and governance (ESG) software platform, a data system which makes it easier and quicker to process information and report on performance against ESG standards.
Jo Shields, Sustainability Lead at whg, said: “We are delighted to have received this prestigious, internationally recognised accreditation and to have been rated so highly by the assessors.
“The Certified Sustainable Housing Label provides external validation and assurance that we are doing all we can to operate in a sustainable, ethical and socially responsible way across our business, from how we develop new homes to how we inspire our teams to join us in tackling the climate crisis.”
Rob Gilham, Corporate Director of Business Strategy and Assets at whg, said: “As a social landlord, we are committed to doing the right thing for our customers, our communities and the planet.
“We are keen to embed sustainability as a core guiding principle for how we operate. As well as protecting the environment, for us this means enabling individuals and neighbourhoods to thrive.
“The Certified Sustainable Housing Label demonstrates how far we have come on our journey towards decarbonising our business while providing high quality homes which are fit for the future.”
whg has reduced its carbon emissions by 4,000 tonnes since 2021. Its work has included cutting waste by 26%, electricity use by 15% and gas by 2%.
It has created its own accredited Carbon Literacy training programme for colleagues and focused on low-carbon living during its 2022 all-colleague conference. whg also launched its first Sustainability Strategy earlier this year, detailing how it plans to deliver on its ambitions.
RITTERWALD developed the Certified Sustainable Housing Label to promote sustainability and assess housing providers’ performance against more than 50 ESG criteria, which is then externally verified by specialist rating agency imug rating.
whg is one of just a dozen of housing associations to achieve the accreditation since the label was launched in the UK in 2019.
Walsall housing scheme to help young people is extended
A Walsall housing project that is helping young people at risk of homelessness has been extended for an additional two years.
The Young Person’s Accommodation Service has been awarded £583,440 to continue providing housing and tenancy management services to care leavers and young, vulnerable people aged between 16 and 29.
The service, which is run by housing association whg in partnership with Walsall Council, was set up in 2014, with whg providing accommodation and intensive housing management services, and Walsall Council providing targeted support for the individuals. To date, it has supported 331 young people to live safely and independently in their first home.
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Through the project whg provides 66 homes for young people, along with a semi-independent training flat. They are provided with individual help and guided as they move successfully into adulthood and learn how to manage their tenancy.
Connie Jennings said: “Over the last eight years we have developed an effective accommodation and intensive housing management service for vulnerable young people who, without this scheme, may require more costly services and interventions in the future.
“The scheme has been hugely successful in giving young people the best opportunity to put down roots, develop a sense of belonging and begin their transition towards independence and adulthood.
“We have had young people joining the programme due to complex vulnerabilities but with help from the scheme they have overcome these with some moving onto to university, higher education, secured jobs and gone on to have their own families.”
whg invests £66.7m to build hundreds of new homes across Midlands
whg has invested £66.7m to build hundreds of new homes across the Midlands, in what has been a busy year for the housing association.
Between April 2022 and March 2023 whg built 255 homes for rent and shared ownership.
The long term investor and landlord is now on 27 sites and forecast to complete 700 new homes by April 24, representing a record in year investment of over £95 million.
These include 324 at Lockside on the sites of the former Caparo steelworks and Metafin factory and 71 on a former scrapyard site on land off Wolverhampton Road.
Further afield in Wolverhampton whg has taken handovers of the first homes at its £32m Royal Hospital flagship scheme, where 123 affordable rent, 31 shared ownership and 38 wellbeing homes are being built.
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whg has also embarked on its first development in Rugby, at Coton Park East, working with Persimmon Homes to deliver 56 homes for rent and 11 for shared ownership.
Other deals during the year include for 44 at Arkall Farm in Tamworth and 15 at Pye Green in Cannock.
Corporate Director of Development, Rebecca Bennett Casserly said: “Despite the current economic climate and ongoing challenges in the sector we are delighted to have had another productive year, expanding into new local authorities and welcoming new development partners.
“Our home building continues at pace with a record £97.2m due to be invested in 2023/4. We have a number of exciting developments planned for completion in the coming months that will bring the affordable homes to the region that are so desperately needed.”
whg receives recognition for green credentials
Leading Midlands’ landlord whg has received recognition for its work to provide energy efficient homes across the region.
The housing association was named Landlord of the Year at the West Midlands Energy Efficiency Awards 2023, which were held in Birmingham on 8 June.
The award recognises whg’s commitment to improving the welfare and quality of life of customers through reducing fuel poverty and carbon emissions.
In the last year whg has invested more than £1 million in improving the energy efficiency of its homes, and made 1,046 of either thermal or heating improvement measures. These have included new windows and boilers and loft and wall insulation.
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Paul Baker, Director of Energy and Programme Management, said: “We are extremely proud to win this award, which recognises the positive impact we are having on reducing our carbon footprint and addressing fuel poverty in the area.
“Walsall, our main operating area, has the tenth highest level of fuel poverty in the country. Our work to reduce energy bills makes a huge difference to our customers, as well as supports our work to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
“We continue to invest in our homes to improve their energy efficiency and move all homes to an EPC rating of C or above over the next seven years.
The Energy Efficiency Awards provide public recognition for the excellent work the energy efficiency sector is doing in implementing energy efficiency schemes that help residents reduce their energy bills, tackle fuel poverty, and reduce carbon emissions, and to help encourage best practice within the energy industry as it works to improve UK housing stock.
