Tag: house builders

Calls for house builders to join initiative to expedite the delivery of 11,000 affordable, net-zero-ready homes

In response to the growing demand for affordable, net-zero-ready housing in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal (ESESCRD), the partners behind the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator (EHD) programme are putting out a call to house builders to engage with the programme and expedite the delivery of planned housing projects. 

The EHD pipeline initiative aims to expedite the construction of 11,000 homes within the next five years that have been identified as part of a larger pipeline of 25,000 homes spanning the six local authority areas in the ESESCRD area.

House builders who engage will implement the EHD typologies for affordable net-zero-ready homes which have been developed, tested, and optimised throughout the programme’s three pilot projects.

The EHD model is centred around collaborative procurement, whole life costing, development pipeline, and increased standardisation of housing types.

Now, the focus of EHD is on leveraging the lessons learned through the pilot projects to streamline the delivery of high-quality, affordable net-zero-ready homes in the region. This open call by the South East Regional Delivery Alliance is for industry and public sector house builders to actively participate in the expedited delivery of 11,000 net zero homes.

House builders engaging with the South East Regional Delivery Alliance’s open call will benefit from access to EHD’s resources and expertise to support the adoption of the EHD delivery model through collaborative procurement by bundling sites, standardising products and embracing offsite manufacturing. By doing so, house builders will be able to drive economies of scale, realise whole life cost savings and support the Scottish Government’s net-zero targets for affordable homes.

Figure 1: Regional Delivery Alliance Model and Outcomes

House builders who are interested in finding out more about how to engage and benefit from EHD are encouraged to contact Sinclair Young, EHD Programme Manager – Development & Regeneration at The City of Edinburgh Council through the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator website: https://edinburgh-home-demonstrator.org/contact

The Scottish Futures Trust construction forecast tool is also available to provide a comprehensive understanding of the construction pipeline across the whole of Scotland.

Marjory Mackie, Housing Strategy and Development Manager at West Lothian Council, said: “Along with the other local authorities in the Regional Delivery Alliance, we are excited to invite home builders to engage with the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator programme.

“By embracing the EHD typologies and leveraging the collaborative approach, builders will not only contribute to meeting the growing demand for housing but also reap the many economic and design benefits. 

“If we can accelerate the delivery of high-quality, affordable, net-zero-ready homes, we can make a significant impact on the affordable housing landscape in the City Region Deal area, while lowering emissions.” 

Alex Goodfellow, CEO at Donaldson Offsite, said: “The EHD programme is an excellent example of industry working in partnership with government bodies and with the support of academia.

“The high-quality research and development work has helped to produce a commercially viable contribution to the current housing challenges we face, while the suite of low carbon home designs created using offsite timber systems demonstrate the collective capability of the Scottish design, manufacturing and development community. ”

For more information, visit: https://edinburgh-home-demonstrator.org/

Scotland site managers win top award for house building quality

Scotland’s top site managers gathered to celebrate their achievements at NHBC’s Pride in the Job 2022 Awards which were held at The Hilton in Glasgow last week.

Organised by NHBC, the UK’s leading new homes warranty and insurance provider, Pride in the Job celebrates site managers who have achieved the very highest standards in house building. It is the most highly regarded competition in the house-building industry and a prestigious benchmark for exceptional site managers.

A series of regional events are taking place throughout the autumn, to announce the Seal of Excellence and Regional Award winners and celebrate the achievements of the Quality Award recipients.

Now in its 42nd year, judging for the Awards is rigorous, with each site manager assessed across six key areas: consistency, attention to detail, leadership, interpretation of drawings and specifications, technical expertise and health and safety.

The competition is split between three categories: small, medium and large house builders, plus a multi-storey category for site managers working on projects of five storeys or more for multiple occupancy.

This year’s Regional winners were:

Small Builder category – Duncan Moon of Guild Homes (Tayside) Ltd, for their work at Strathmore Fields at Forfar.

Medium Builder category – Stuart Gillespie of Mactaggart & Mickel Homes Ltd, for their work at Greenan Views at Doonfoot.

Large Builder category – Eddie McCann of Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, for their work at Calderwood in East Calder.

Multi-storey category – Cathal Lamph of CALA Homes East, for their work at Waterfront Plaza in Edinburgh.

As well as their category wins, Mr Moon, Mr Gillespie, Mr McCann and Mr Lamph were each awarded a Seal of Excellence. A further ten managers across the region were also awarded a Seal of Excellence at the ceremony having gained a Quality Award in the first round of the competition in June. They were:

  • Gavin Bianchi of Taylor Wimpey East Scotland
  • Jeff Calder of Barratt and David Wilson Homes North Scotland
  • George Carty of Bellway Homes Scotland West
  • Victoria Chalmers of Barratt and David Wilson Homes North Scotland
  • Iain MacLaren of Barratt and David Wilson Homes North Scotland
  • Ewan MacLean of Barratt and David Wilson Homes East Scotland
  • Jim Martin of Miller Homes Scotland East
  • David McClure of Taylor Wimpey West Scotland
  • Colin McNeish of Miller Homes Scotland West
  • Michael Roarty of Barratt and David Wilson Homes West Scotland

Over more than four decades, Pride in the Job has underpinned NHBC’s core purpose of raising standards in house building by championing high-quality homes and protecting homeowners. By recognising the very best site managers across the UK, showcasing best practice and rewarding excellence, the competition celebrates the vital role that site managers play in ensuring new homes are delivered on time, on safe sites and to exacting construction quality standards.

Commenting on the Awards, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “For more than 40 years Pride in the Job has been an important part of our work to help drive construction quality. Winning site managers tell us that it inspires them to give a little extra and to strive harder for ever-higher standards of house building. 

“At NHBC we believe that the calibre of the site manager and the way they inspire their site team has the greatest influence on the quality of the finished home. By promoting friendly rivalry, showcasing best practice and rewarding excellence, Pride in the Job supports the delivery of homes of the highest quality.

“Congratulations to all the 2022 Pride in the Job Seal of Excellence and Regional Award winners. They are an inspiration to us all and should be very proud of the quality of new homes they are creating.”

The Regional Award winners will now go forward to compete for the ultimate prize in house building, the Pride in the Job Supreme Awards which will be unveiled at a gala ceremony in London in January 2023.

For further information and the full list of winners please visit: Pride in the Job 2022 | NHBC

Barratt Homes: Twelve in a row!

Local housebuilder awarded 5 stars for customer satisfaction for a record 12 years in a row

Local housebuilder Barratt Homes East Scotland has received the maximum 5-star rating in the new Home Builders Federation (HBF) annual New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey.

The number of stars awarded is based on customer responses to the question “would you recommend your builder to a friend”? For Barratt to have been awarded 5 stars means that over 90% of its customers would recommend their homes to a friend.

This is the 12th year in a row that Barratt has achieved the 5-star rating – a record unmatched by any other major national housebuilder.

It comes on top of the recent Supreme Win at the NHBC Pride in the Job Awards, where Barratt site manager Kirk Raine scooped the top award out of a possible 11,000 site managers across the country – marking the fifth Supreme win for Barratt site managers in six years.

The HBF New Homes Survey is one of the largest surveys of its type in the country and is completed by nearly 50,000 people who have recently bought a new build home. The simple 1-5 star rating system was developed to give customers an easy to view ranking system of which housebuilders have the most satisfied customers.

The high satisfaction rates are a testament to Barratt’s commitment to building high quality homes and great places that its customers are proud to call home. The customer is at the heart of everything Barratt does, and it is this focus on making customers happy which results in such high recommendation scores. 

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, said: “The survey demonstrates that the industry is delivering an excellent level of service in the opinion of over 90% of its customers.

“The fact that we have seen four successive years of improved satisfaction levels shows the clear focus builders have been putting on the customer. That this level of satisfaction has been delivered during a pandemic that saw sites closed and builders unable to access homes for a period makes it even more of an achievement.

“To achieve a 5-star rating, meaning that at least 90% of your customers would recommend you, is a fantastic achievement that requires commitment from everyone within the organisation.”

Alison Condie, managing director at Barratt Homes East Scotland, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have been announced a 5-star housebuilder for a record 12 years in a row.

“We work hard to look after our customers, both before and after they buy their new homes, so it’s great to know that our customers rate us so highly, and that so many of them would recommend us to a friend. We will continue to give all of our customers a 5-star service.”

Barratt is currently building a range of quality new homes across the east of Scotland.

For more information, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/scotland-east.