We have plans to build more than 6,000 affordable homes over the next five years as part of a £1billion investment into the South West economy.
We have delivered 800 affordable homes and 111 for open market across the South West during the last financial year with a total investment of £146m on building new homes.
Over the next five years, we will develop more than 2,000 affordable homes in Devon, more than 1,500 in Somerset, and more than 1,200 in both Cornwall and the West of England.
As the largest housing provider in the South West, we own and manage more than 39,000 homes across the region with more than 80,000 customers.
Click here to read our annual report 2021/22.
We remain on course to develop 1,050 affordable homes for rent and shared ownership, 164 for outright sale and 50 for market rent during the current financial year.
Paul Crawford, our Chief Executive, said: “Our absolute commitment is to continue to develop much-needed affordable homes across the South West.
“The sector continues to see demand for affordable homes growing faster than supply and we are seeing over 75 applicants for every property that becomes available for rent.
“This desperate shortage of housing has been worsened by private market rent volumes reducing as owners convert to holiday lets in the South West, making our strategy to invest sustainably and deliver a long-term programme of new homes even more important.
“In addition to the challenges associated with Covid-19 over the last two-and-half years, this year has brought added cost of living, inflation and supply chain issues to our customers, colleagues and the wider operating environment.
“The greatest need in the South West is for low cost rented housing which underpins our commitment to increase the supply of new housing with a focus on delivering affordable homes for rent.
“Behind our financial and development figures is the story of how LiveWest has put social purpose, the quality and safety of the homes we develop, health and safety, and the needs of our customers at the heart of everything we do.
“We are a not-for-profit organisation, so we use our surplus to reinvest in our homes and communities, and to build more affordable housing.
“The operating surplus we have recorded is already being reinvested into building affordable homes across the region.
“We are also keeping up momentum with the investment in our existing properties having spent £74m in maintaining and improving homes for our current customers. These improvements include significant expenditure on building safety, energy efficiency and significant upgrades to homes.
“This will ensure that our homes remain great places to live, as well as protecting our investment for the future.
“Deepening our customer relationships is pivotal for LiveWest and our sustained efforts to meet our customers’ needs are highlighted with an 87% satisfaction rate.”
Using the information obtained from last year’s 19,000 welfare calls to identify customers who require support through our Tenancy Sustainment team, community groups and other agencies, the housing provider awarded 871 grants last year with many being for food and utilities.
We also appointed an Energy Officer as part of its drive to support customers to manage their energy costs.
Recognising the increasing challenges facing its customers this year, we have set aside £850,000 to support them with a range of measures and is also allocating £360,000 to a new Tenancy Support Fund (TSF) to support customers struggling to pay their energy costs and rent.
We have also added a further £100,000 to its existing Crisis and Hardship support grant with over 370 grants already provided this financial year.
Mr Crawford added: “We recognise we are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis and the focus of our development programme is very much on providing homes that people can afford to live in.
“We are committed to supporting our customers facing financial difficulties and have put in place a Tenancy Support Fund which is available for those who do not have their housing costs covered in full by either Universal Credit or Housing Benefit and are experiencing financial challenges.
“Our priority is to ensure that our most vulnerable customers have been able to get the support they need.”
Our financial stability lays solid foundations for it to build more than 7,000 homes of al tenures across the region in the next five years.
The organisation’s investment plans over the next five years will sustain 7,000 jobs in the building and supply chain, protecting livelihoods and offering fresh opportunities.
In rising to the challenge of the housing crisis, we have also entered into a new strategic partnership with Homes England to deliver 2,550 affordable homes by 2028.
This is in addition to having identified all 1,235 affordable homes in relation to its previous Homes England Wave One funding, supporting its development plans across all tenures over the next five years.
Our financial strength is further underlined after Moody’s Investors Service maintained its A2 stable credit rating, emphasising the quality of its financial base and management.
Moody’s Investors Service is a leading provider of credit ratings, research and risk analysis and the A2 rating puts LiveWest among the top ratings for finance in the sector.
We are the one of the region’s largest employers with more than 1,500 skilled and enthusiastic staff and currently has more than 50 apprentices working across our organisation.