Barratt Developments Scotland, which includes Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes, has made a substantial contribution of £355.5m to the Scottish economy, with the housebuilder’s East Scotland division supplying £115.5m in GVA itself.
In the year ending 30 June 2023, Barratt East Scotland also completed 847 new homes of which 187 were affordable, and supported 1,641 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the region, which includes Edinburgh and The Lothians.
2023 also saw the largest UK housebuilder reinforce its commitment to creating homes for nature as well as people. The business created 10.3ha of public green spaces and private gardens around the region, the equivalent of 15 football pitches, to help support wildlife on and around its sites.
Across the UK, Barratt is working towards reducing its direct carbon emissions by 29 per cent by 2025 and indirect emissions by 24 per cent per square metre by 2030. In the past year, CO2e emissions per 100m.sq. of completed build area fell to 1.87t in Scotland – a reduction of 2 per cent from the 2018 benchmark.
Alison Condie, managing director for Barratt Developments East Scotland, said: “As the UK’s largest housebuilder, and one of the most sustainable, we place considerable emphasis on supporting people, the environment and generating strong economic growth for the region.
“We are proud to have made such a positive contribution to the region in 2023 with 847 new homes being delivered to families and boosting the local economy by £115.5m.”
As part of its housebuilding activity, Barratt East Scotland has made £3.4m in local contributions to help build new facilities and community infrastructure. This contribution includes the provision of 173 new school places. More than £27.3m has also been spent on physical works within communities, such as highways, environmental improvements and community facilities.
Other key findings from the Barratt East Scotland 2021 socio-economic report include:
- Increased support for public services with £28.9m in generated tax revenues
- Over £96,000 donated to local charitable and community causes
- 296 supplier and 276 sub-contractor companies supported
- Increased support for the UK supply chain with 90% of all components centrally procured, assembled or manufactured in-country
- More than £15.2m in retail spending by new residents, helping support 150 retail and service-related jobs
The development of new and future talent remains a key priority for Barratt Developments Scotland and 75 graduates, apprentices and trainees launched their careers with the company in 2023, including 24 from its East Scotland division.
The assessment of Barratt Developments’ performance was carried out by independent consultants Lichfields, who analysed socio-economic impacts through the delivery chain for new housing based on Barratt datasets, published research and national statistics.
