Chair's Statement
Since taking over as Chair at settle in September, I have been so proud of the ways in which our colleagues have supported our customers, communities and each other, throughout this year.
Customers are at the centre of what we do; our geographical focus enables us to be deep-rooted in the communities that we work in. This has never been more evident than the past 12 months where our highlights have included:
- Making more than 22,000 outbound contacts to support customers
- Recruiting new colleagues to increase capacity in our neighbourhood teams, enabling us to provide the support needed by customers affected by the pandemic
- Delivering emergency food parcels to 167 residents
- Supporting 87 residents with gas, electric or oil top-ups
- Delivering more than 300 activity packs to customers
- Supporting 90 households, which included 200 children with simple, healthy meals during the 2020 summer holidays
- Delivering Christmas dinner to 30 residents who were isolating
- Loaning laptops and tablets to colleagues and residents to support home-learning
While our response to the pandemic has been our overriding focus of the financial year, I am also pleased with the progress that we have made against our five-year strategy. Despite development sites being shut for most of the first quarter of the financial year, we still developed 172 new homes. In addition, our growing reputation of being a trusted and reliable partner has seen our future committed pipeline of homes grow to over half of our targeted level; giving us confidence around our ability to deliver on our ambition of 1,500 new homes by 2024.
We have also made significant progress around our major regeneration project at John Barker Place in Hitchin. We have committed over £20m investment to provide 83 new homes, two shops and a new children’s play area. It has been fantastic to see this project progress; working in collaboration with local residents and key stakeholders such as North Hertfordshire District Council, we opened the new children’s play area in summer 2020 and started work on site as planned in January 2021.
Sally Veitch, Chair
“I strongly believe that settle is in a good place to respond effectively to these challenges”
REGENERATION
“We have also made significant progress around our major regeneration project at John Barker Place in Hitchin.”
2020/21 has been another year where we have demonstrated continued financial strength. Our operating surplus of £21.8m enables us to continue investing in our homes and neighbourhoods. We also entered the private debt markets during 2020/21, securing £75m funding that will underpin the delivery of our new homes.
settle, along with all other Housing Associations, needs to respond to a range of challenges, whether it be supporting customers during the post-pandemic world, increased investment into our homes and neighbourhoods, or the decarbonisation of our business. I strongly believe that settle is in a good place to respond effectively to these challenges and I look forward to working with colleagues and stakeholders to help realise this.
I would like to finish by recording my thanks to my fellow Board members who have all been great pillars of support since I became Chair. During the year ahead, two of our Board Members, Marie Li Mow Ching and Victor Dove will be leaving the Board after six years of service. On behalf of everyone, I would like to pay tribute to their commitment and energy in helping settle progress.