Barratt Homes – Page 2 – The NEN

Barratt Homes leads affordable housing drive across Edinburgh

Barratt Homes East Scotland is leading the drive to bring much-needed modern and affordable homes to popular areas of Edinburgh.

The homebuilder has announced a multimillion-pound investment that will see almost 100 new homes – a mix of social housing and mid-market rent – created across three developments.

Alison Condie, Managing Director of Barratt Homes East Scotland said: “We’re committed to using our position as one of the country’s leading housebuilders to work in partnership with housing associations to develop well-integrated and modern low cost homes all across Edinburgh’s diverse neighbourhoods.

“High quality affordable housing has a huge role to play in addressing some of the most important societal challenges of our time – and we’re proud to help communities thrive by creating homes that meet their needs.”

In south Edinburgh, this includes 24 homes at Lime Grove in Burdiehouse and 29 homes at Heritage Grange – bringing a total of 161 affordable homes to the site once the development is completed. Both projects, which are due to complete by spring 2023, are being delivered in partnership with Castle Rock Edinvar – one of the country’s largest housing associations.

Both developments will provide high quality housing for families in particular, with a new primary school near Heritage Grange, Frogston Primary School, due to open in 2021.

In the vibrant district of Leith, a £6m project will commence to create 43 new affordable homes at Barratt Homes’ Merchant Quay development, built in partnership with the Port of Leith Housing Association.

The homes, which aim to welcome residents by summer 2023, will be the first delivered at the Baltic Street site in recognition of the urgent need for affordable housing.

Barratt Developments – which includes both Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes – has to date delivered over 1,000 homes across Edinburgh through the Affordable Housing Policy, making the group one of the biggest contributors to affordable housing land supply in the city in the last 15 years.

This feeds in to the wider Scottish Government goal of providing 50,000 new affordable homes – with work safely kickstarting with urgency following delays caused by national lockdowns.

For more information about Barratt Homes’ properties and locations, visit

www.barratthomes.co.uk.

Dream home becomes reality for Pauline thanks to Golden Share

For many people, the lure of a new home and upgraded space has become all the more present during the pandemic – with our homes becoming our sanctuaries.

For South Edinburgh mum Pauline, who dreamed of a new-build home after facing issues in older properties, The City of Edinburgh Council’s Golden Share scheme was a chance to make it her reality.

Pauline said: “My past experience in old houses made me turn a corner on what I was after. I was getting fed up of the upkeep, and always struggled to heat the other properties without it costing a fortune.

“I’d always loved the cleanliness and ease of new build properties, they always felt like they were ready to live in when you walked in the door.”

Location, location, location

For Pauline, location was everything. The new home would have to be close to a school for her two sons, as well as being close to her workplace. Ample space and at least three bedrooms were also on her checklist.

After scoping out her ideal locations, Pauline discovered Barratt Homes @ Heritage Grange provided everything she was looking for, at a price she could afford.

She said: “I didn’t know the area was there when I visited the sales office, I sort of found it by accident! In comparison to a lot of the other houses nearby, the matter of being a couple of minutes down the road also made quite a big price difference, despite the Barratt houses offering a lot more.

“It was exciting seeing it go through the different stages, Ross [the sales adviser] kept me updated throughout. Seeing it from its first initial shell, to then having everything finished for moving in, was a really positive journey. They allowed me to move in as soon as it was finished and the builders even took away all of the leftover cardboard and boxes after I had finished un-packing! It was a fantastic buying experience”.

From dream to reality

After seeing it come to life, Pauline and her two sons moved into a three-bedroom, mid-terraced Bonnyton house-type.

“It was exactly what I was after; as soon as you step into the home it feels airy and open. You can also see all the way through into the garden, with a big living dining room area just off it. It is such a difference to the other places we had lived in.

“My favourite area of the house is definitely the back and garden. When you open up the living room patio doors onto the garden, it creates one huge space. The garden itself is a perfect size and has that TARDIS-effect. I’ve managed to build a summerhouse with decking, which I often work in, so there’s an extra room there too.”

“There’s also a great sense of community among the neighbours at the development. There’s groups to keep each other updated and when there has been heavy snowfall, we’ve organised shovelling clear outs.”

Barratt @ Heritage Grange is a development of three and four-bedroom homes on the south side of the capital. Located just 15 minutes away from the city centre, it is the perfect location to enjoy a combination of country and city living in a brand new home.

Why choose Golden Share?

Backed by The City of Edinburgh Council, Golden Share is an affordable housing scheme for eligible first time buyers and existing homeowners, which allows them to purchase a new home at only 80% of its market value.

When speaking about her experience with the Golden Share scheme, Pauline said: “It’s important to be organised as it’s quite a tough process, but very much worth it in the end. I am a part-time educator for the NHS, which met the criteria, and I was able to show that my children had to be in the area, with support for them too. It worked out really well for my situation. If not, I would have been stuck in a small flat, with two growing teenagers!”

“I’d recommend anyone thinking of purchasing through Golden Share to speak to the Barratt Sales team, they were really helpful clearing up any doubts I had. Also visiting the show home was a key part of my house-buying process; it really gave me a better idea of the sizing.”

A number of Barratt Homes developments in the east of Scotland feature properties available for Golden Share, including Barratt @ Heritage Grange and The Strand @ Portobello.

The Strand @ Portobello offers a collection of two and three-bedroom terraced houses and apartments close to the picturesque Portobello beach. With excellent transportation links to Edinburgh city centre and road links around the city, the development also benefits from a number of local amenities close by on Portobello high street.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/offers/golden-share/

Barratt supports three local charities

Young people and mental health are the focus of Barratt East Scotland’s latest charitable donation round. Barratt has made donations of £1,000 each to 3 Scotland-based charities:

· Penumbra – a mental health charity supporting adults and young people

· Richmond’s Hope – supporting bereaved young people aged 4-18yrs

· Teenage Cancer Trust – providing support and treatment for young people aged 13-24

As part of its Community Fund, the homebuilder is committed to supporting a selection of local charities, chosen by Barratt staff, within Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians with new donations every month throughout 2019.

Alison Condie, Managing Director, Barratt Homes East Scotland, said: “The work that Penumbra, Richmond’s Hope and Teenage Cancer Trust do is crucial to the communities in which we operate.

“We are delighted that our donations will make such a difference to people – especially children and young adults – in our local area. Every charity we support though our Community Fund initiative is chosen by our staff and the causes they support are close to our hearts.”

Nigel Henderson, chief executive of Penumbra, said: “As a mental health charity providing support to around 1800 adults and young people across Scotland each week, we are delighted to benefit from the Barratt Homes East Community Fund.

“We have a range of projects across Scotland, supporting people who experience mental ill health to live fulfilling lives in their communities. This money will support our Recovery Fund which enables people to try out new activities and opportunities.”

Barratt Homes is committed supporting the communities in which it operates.

For more information on Barratt Homes and the communities it operates in visit www.barratthomes.co.uk. To find out more about the incredible work being done at Penumbra, visit www.penumbra.org.uk

To learn more about the work Richmond’s Hope do to support bereaved children, visit www.richmondshope.org.uk, and to learn about Teenage Cancer Trust, visit www.teenagecancertrust.org.

Barratt boost for Edinburgh charities

Barratt Homes, the UK’s largest builder has donated £3,000 to three charities across Edinburgh and the Lothians, helping them with a number of projects in 2020.

A £1,000 donation was made to Libertus Services, Edinburgh North West Food Project and NSPCC Scotland as part of the Barratt Homes Community Fund.

The Barratt Homes Community Fund pledges £1,000 every month to a charity or organisation which supports local people across Edinburgh, The Lothians and Fife. Charities are nominated and voted for by employees of Barratt Homes and the focus for the fund continues to be on organisations that improve the quality of life for those living in the area.

The series of donations follows on from a successful year of volunteering by Barratt Homes. Throughout 2019 employees from across the business completed a grand total of 88 days volunteering for different charities in the region including CHAS, Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home and RSPB.

Part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks, The Edinburgh North West Food Project provides emergency food parcels to people living in food poverty. The North-West Edinburgh branch was opened in 2012, based out of its founder’s garage, with only a handful of volunteers, and now has seven foodbanks across Edinburgh with over 190 dedicated volunteers, working with over 230 support agencies.

Ryan Strachan, operations manager, Edinburgh North West Food Project commented: “We can’t thank Barratt enough for their kind donation. Each box we issue costs roughly £5 and we are roughly putting out 1,000 boxes per month.

“The donation will be used towards these boxes and help cover things like stock crates, wheels to move stock around the warehouse, vans plus their upkeep, rent and maintenance of warehouse, as well as electricity and stationery.”

The NSPCC Speak Out Stay Safe assemblies help children to recognise different types of abuse and to feel confident about speaking out to a trusted adult.

NSPCC Scotland began delivering the service to primary schools in Scotland in 2012, and since then its staff and team of dedicated volunteers have spoken to tens of thousands of schoolchildren the length and breadth of the country.

Katie Bruce, corporate partnerships manager for NSPCC Scotland said: “We’re really grateful for the donation and without Barratt Homes’ support, and other organisations like them giving back to their community, we wouldn’t be able to deliver programmes like ‘Speak Out. Stay Safe’ across the East of Scotland.

“Through their donation, Barratt Homes has ensured that NSPCC Scotland will visit another two primary schools in the Lothians, helping children understand about their right to be protected from abuse and neglect and how they should speak to a trusted adult when something worries or upsets them.”

Libertus Services is an Edinburgh-based charity dedicated to supporting people to live independently.

Providing a registered Day Care service to local older people alongside a plethora of recreational, educational, cultural and social projects, the charity is dedicated to empowering its members to make informed choices and to engage with activities which offer a selection of physical activity, reminiscence, games and art as therapy.

Dan Fuller, positive futures project coordinator, Libertus said: “We’re really thankful for Barratt’s donation, which will help support our Positive Futures project. Positive Futures supports people over the age of 50 across Edinburgh to develop and run weekly activity groups in community based settings.

“The donation will specifically help with a number of supplies, from stationery for the craft workshops to equipment for our gym and pilates classes. With this project we aim to reduce social isolation by offering local people opportunities to get involved, meet new people, develop and use their skills.”

Anne Ross, Director for Barratt Scotland East said: “All three charities provide an invaluable service across Scotland for children, those in food poverty and the elderly.

“At Barratt East Scotland we are committed to supporting the communities we serve, and through this fund and our volunteering days, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to the services that make a positive impact on so many lives.”

Last year £1.2 million was donated across Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes in the UK.

For more information on Barratt Homes visit https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/

Barratt Homes launch festive food bank support

Barratt Homes has set up a foodbank collection point at their regional head office in Edinburgh.

The foodbank, which will operate until 19 December, has been set up in aid of Edinburgh North West and Central foodbanks, part of The Trussell Trust Network which provides food packs to people who are in crisis.

The foodbank collection point has been set up for Barratt employees, family and friends to donate urgently needed goods like coffee, UHT milk, custard, tinned meat and chocolate. The team at Edinburgh North West and Central foodbanks will make several collections from Barratt throughout December before processing the items and delivering to those that are in need.

Alison Condie, managing director Barratt East Scotland said; “With the party season commencing, we felt it was important to give something to those in need and we are delighted to support Edinburgh North West and Central foodbanks. We’ve had a great response from employees so far and we hope to donate a significant amount of food over the festive period.”

Ewan Walker, operations manager, Edinburgh Food Project, added; “We need to receive over 4,000kg of food each month in order to meet demand and this increases by 50% in the run up to Christmas when we give out extras such as mince pies and selection boxes. We really appreciate large companies like Barratt coming on board, setting up their own collection points. Not only does it boost food donations, but it raises awareness of our cause with employees.”

Barratt East Scotland’s foodbank collection will run until Friday 19 December.