Chair's Statement
The past year has undoubtedly brought to the fore the importance of our work as a housing association – to invest in quality homes and neighbourhoods, increase the supply of affordable new homes and ensure that everything we do is rooted in understanding and responding to the needs of residents.
We continue to see ongoing challenges and changes across the external political, economic and regulatory landscape. Our responsibilities as a Board at settle are to ensure the organisation understands these challenges and changes, the impact they will have on our business, the residents, communities and partners we work with and that we are able to respond effectively.
The Board continues to balance the priorities of being a great landlord, providing good quality homes and playing our part in solving the housing crisis.
During the past year we delivered 278 new homes, all of which were affordable – for rent and shared ownership, and one commercial unit. I am delighted that this included the milestone of our 10,000th home – delivered in the heart of one of our biggest neighbourhoods in Letchworth Garden City, through a development of 30 homes that were all for affordable rent. We remain committed to increasing the supply of affordable homes in the areas in which we work. We have spent over £60m on new homes last year and we have a strong development pipeline and continue to build on this with over 900 homes currently in contract.
Ongoing investment in the quality of existing homes remains a priority for the Board. I have been really pleased to see the progress made, delivering as planned on higher levels of expenditure on repairs, maintenance and investment in homes. The Board continues to ensure systems and processes are in place so that no resident lives with ongoing condensation, damp or mould in their homes, and to drive the sustainability agenda, so that our ambition to reach EPC C for all our homes is achieved by 2030.
As part of our commitment to improving the quality of existing homes, we continue to expand our regeneration plans. During the year, we have progressed developments in Hitchin and across three locations in Letchworth Garden City.
We recognise that it will never be possible to make some of the homes we own fit for purpose in a financially responsible way. In these situations, the only solution is to rebuild homes. In doing so, our commitment will always be to ensure that customers are at the heart of these developments, that we listen and respond with solutions that meet their needs and provide the quality of life we and residents can be proud of.
Sally Veitch, Chair 20 July 2023
“This year marks the 20th anniversary of settle"
NEW HOMES
“During the past year we delivered 278 new homes, all of which were affordable.”
Our ability to invest in homes requires financial strength underpinned by certainty of income. This is shown during 2022/23 with a financial surplus of £21.8m and an operating margin of 28%.
The Board and I welcomed the conclusion of the rent settlement discussions with government. In difficult circumstances, a 7% rent increase felt the right outcome.
These decisions are never easy. With the Board, we recognise the challenges any rent increase adds for those facing cost of living pressures, and I have been pleased to see the partnerships and support that colleagues have put in place to help residents.
The 7% increase provides a certainty of income that plays an important part in the financial strength of settle, and so many other housing associations. This is vital to our ability to make ongoing investment in homes, without which we leave a legacy of problems for future generations.
Having achieved the highest possible V1/G1 rating for viability and governance in January 2022 following an in-depth assessment by the Regulator of Social Housing, in November we and a number of other RPs had our rating for financial viability re-graded to V2. We respect the judgement passed by the Regulator; this change reflects the reality of the external environment and increased pressures faced by settle and so many others. We were pleased to retain our G1 rating for governance, reflecting the good risk management we have in place. As part of our ongoing business planning processes, the settle Board and Executive team had already identified and responded to many of the external challenges we have been facing. We continue to monitor these and ensure the business remains financially resilient, so that as we move forward, we can continue to do the best for customers.
Central to doing the best for customers is hearing their voice and responding to this throughout our work. I have always been passionate about doing this – I love our commitment at settle to the Big Door Knock and have been really pleased to join this during the year, getting out with colleagues and Board members to speak to residents about our work. Highlights for me this year have also included seeing the new Voice of the Resident Panel established; it is great to see this partnership with residents and their commitment to working with colleagues on influencing decisions made by the organisation.
In my Chair’s Statement last year, I noted the appointments made to the Board and that we had added an extra Board Committee purely focused on operations. I believe we have built a strong Board and that it is providing the appropriate rigour and scrutiny across settle’s work and services. I would like to thank fellow Board members for their support during the past year, and in particular to Robert Barton who completed his term as a settle Board member at the end of March.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of settle. Formed in 2003 as North Hertfordshire Homes following a Large-Scale Voluntary Transfer from North Hertfordshire Council, the organisation became settle in 2018, reflecting that we were working across a wider geography which now extends into Central Bedfordshire, and South Cambridgeshire. We retain our base in North Hertfordshire, with all developments within a 45-minute drive of our offices in Letchworth.
The agreement to become a housing association in 2003 meant that the organisation was better placed to leverage funding enabling investment in new and existing homes, and to supporting local communities. Since I became Chair, I have seen the commitment from colleagues to deliver on these priorities and I am confident that we are well placed to continue doing so.
At its heart, settle is a people organisation. We are proud of working hard and caring for our residents. It takes a great team of people to do this. Our colleagues, our partners, our stakeholders all work together well with the needs of residents at the core of everything we do. I would like to thank everyone for their great efforts in the last year and I really look forward to continuing to build on this next year and in future years.