Knowle Green Estates Ltd has issued its annual report for 2021/22.
Welcome to our 2021/2022 annual report, where you can read about the financial, social and environmental performance and achievements of Knowle Green Estates Ltd (KGE), in what has been a turbulent year for social housing and the wider property market. Despite this, the headline remains that KGE are serving residents of Spelthorne to deliver affordable and sustainable homes to live in, now and in the future.
Both our sole shareholder Spelthorne Borough Council and the company are passionate about our mission. The lack of affordable housing in Spelthorne is an issue, with the Borough having had to rely in the past on Registered Social Landlords and the private sector to provide affordable housing. The outcome in terms of delivery was incredibly disappointing and fell well short of what is required and in response to this challenge, we are leading by example and here began the KGE journey.
The experience of the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly demonstrated both the resilience and the flexibility of KGE. As the national and global economy continues to be extremely challenging after two years of unbelievable disruption, we are seeing the cost of living increasing and KGE will continue to strive to deliver its mission to provide affordable homes. We believe that the continued work of KGE is vital to the health and economic wellbeing of residents and pivotal in creating a stronger Borough.
KGE had a momentous year in 2021-22, significantly increasing its portfolio. In May 2021, KGE took on the management of Benwell Phase 1 (55 units) made up of 60% affordable rental units, 20% key worker units and 20% private rental units. Swiftly followed by the completion of the West Wing in winter 2021 which was transferred to the KGE. 17,800sqft of affordable rental residential space was created, providing a bespoke mix of 8 one, 13 two and 4 three-bedroom flats (25 in total). The mix was designed to meet the variety of needs identified by our clients on the Council’s housing register. Additionally, solar panels were installed to ensure we maximise the use of green energy on the development (meeting the requirement for at least 10% via renewable energy).
The West Wing was recognised as a pioneering project nationally when the decision was made by Spelthorne to convert the U-shaped Council Civic Office at Knowle Green into affordable homes – a situation which we believe is unique in the country.
Other authorities sold or redeveloped their offices for residential development but this solution has been far more innovative. The vast majority of KGE homes are let on rents of up to 80% of the equivalent market rent and we now provide 91 homes for residents in Spelthorne. The majority of residents come through the Council’s Housing Options team, which ensures that those who need most need this accommodation are prioritised.
Residents are being offered five-year tenancies which provide far more stability that they would have in the private rented sector. As part of this growth, Spelthorne Borough Council recruited additional staffing resource, whose costs are fully recharged to KGE, with the experience, skills and expertise in managing new tenants, both social and private; supporting tenancy sustainment; and putting into practice the appropriate range of policies such as Tenancy Sustainment, Hardship Fund, Delegation Policy, Vulnerable Persons Policy and Safeguarding Policy.
There are other developments in the pipeline which are either in planning or at the design stage which will over the next five years increase the provision of affordable and keyworker homes for rent in the Borough of Spelthorne.
Over the coming years, we plan to redevelop Victory Place for 127 apartments, which will be reserved as key worker homes, as well as a number of redevelopment projects in Staines and Ashford, for which KGE will become the property management company.
This year has compelled us to think about how we support tenants, what their needs will be in future, and how to adapt the company’s role as landlord in the coming years.
Our social impact came to the fore this year: what do our residents need and how can we ensure the vulnerable are supported. We have worked in partnership with the Council
on how we are engaging with residents and a number of consultation events took place in summer 2022 with regards to specific residential proposals.
Enabling two-way communication and for our tenants to report property related issues easily is important if we are to ensure they are resolved as soon as possible. This year
we launched DWELLANT, a new web platform for logging, managing, and monitoring facilities management jobs that enables us to provide our residents with a more reliable and efficient property management service.
We have also committed to becoming a Net Zero company and will continue working on our Environmental Strategy throughout 2022-23. This includes all new residential developments to include air source heat pumps and solar technology for energy efficient homes.
KGE successfully demonstrated that local authorities working in partnership with housing delivery companies have the capability to innovate their approach to developing and
delivering a variety of housing solutions to help tackle the long-term inequalities in housing for its communities. It certainly promises to be an exciting few years.
Finally, we are immensely proud of what the team has achieved this last year and we would like to thank each and every one of our colleagues for their incredible efforts over
what has been a challenging, yet productive and successful year.
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