Foundations Issue 28

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Celebrating our 500,000th house We look at why this milestone is so important plus your chance to vote for your favourite housetype! Page 12

Barratt Foundation

Meet the Team: Workforce Forum

Big Barratt NHS thank you

Details of the new charitable foundation and how we’re helping communities across the country

We spoke to members of the Workforce Forum to find out what the forum does and the role they play

Celebrating our heroes who have used the new scheme

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Issue 28 Winter 2020/21


Welcome to issue 28 While 2020 was a truly unprecedented year and the challenges that we all face are unsettling for many of us, I want to thank you all for your continued dedication and support. I really do believe that in the past year, we have shown the resilience and strength of our business, and this is a testament to the commitment and hard work of our colleagues, so thank you. Our business continues to be in a strong financial and operational position, and we remain focused on rebuilding our completion volumes and achieving our minimum 23% gross margin rate on new land acquisitions and minimum of 25% ROCE. We also continue to stand out and lead the industry in both quality and customer service. Last year we celebrated becoming the only major housebuilder to be rated 5 Star by our customers in the HBF customer satisfaction survey for 11 consecutive years, a record none of our competitors come close to. In this issue of Foundations, you’ll also read about our awardwinning site managers who have gone on to win more NHBC Pride in the Job Seal of Excellence awards than any other housebuilder has won in any single year. We also celebrated winning Large Housebuilder of the Year at The Housebuilder Awards 2020 for the second year in a row, and for the third time in five years, a remarkable achievement. We celebrate this achievement and our other winners in the issue. Towards the end of the 2020, we reached the milestone of completing our 500,000th home, an incredible achievement which reflects the hard work and commitment from all of our teams now and over the last 62 years. We take a look at some of the activities we have planned to celebrate this landmark in 2021 including Steven Boyes’ housetype competition. To demonstrate our commitment to supporting charities across the country, we launched the Barratt Foundation in January and we share more details about this in the issue along with the other initiatives to help you support causes that matter to you, including the Group matching on Payroll Giving. We hear from the Workforce Forum in Meet the Team, where members provide an insight to what the forum does. We celebrate our long service employees and hear from one colleague about her journey at Barratt and we take a look at how our graduates are raising money for The Prince’s Trust.

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As we reflect on 2020, we celebrate some of our NHS heroes and find out how the Big Barratt NHS thank you has helped them to move into the home of their dreams. We also look at how we’re trying to become the leading national sustainable housebuilder and the role we can all play. 2021 will see the biggest change to customer rights we’ve seen in a long time, and this issue takes a closer look at these changes. Our vision is to lead the future of housebuilding by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, so in order to continue leading the industry and setting ourselves aside from our competitors, we must continue to do what’s right for our customers. This is not only because it’s the right thing to do but it’s at the core of our business. Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you again for your continued dedication and commitment. I know the past year has been particularly hard for some of you, and I would like to remind everyone to look for the health and wellbeing support they need. I’m confident that we can build on the progress we’ve made in the past six months and enjoy a successful year. David Thomas

Chief Executive


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Rachel Clare Planner, Mercia

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Katy Hamid Employee Communications Manager, GSC

Emma Evans Trainee Land Buyer, West Midlands Rob Chilton Urban Designer, GSC

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Zoe Griffin Senior Communications Executive, GSC Anna Nichols Finance graduate, Southampton Sabine Dunstan Trainee Land Buyer, North West

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Welcome To Foundations issue 28

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What’s new? News from around the business

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Leading construction Celebrating success at the Housebuilder Awards 2020

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Looking after our people Details of all the benefits available to employees plus how to access health and wellbeing support

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Meet the Team We speak to members of the Workforce Forum and hear more about the group

Promoting diversity and inclusion An update on how we’re connecting colleagues through employee networks and Barratt Connect

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Projects roundup A tour of our latest developments and the new communities we’re creating

Keeping people safe Remembering the essentials with 5 Steps to Safety

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Business change projects Details of the projects to help improve our ways of working

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Team Golden Bricks How our 2019 Aspire Graduates are raising money for The Prince’s Trust

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The Big Interview We speak to recently appointed Group Partnerships Director, Georgina Butler, and find out more about Barratt Partnerships

Improving customer's rights A look at the changes coming in 2021 and why it’s more important than ever to do the right thing

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Building a sustainable future How we’re trying to become the leading national sustainable housebuilder and the role you play

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Celebrating our 500,000th home And what this key milestone means for our business

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Celebrating long service Hear from one of our colleagues and see who has celebrated in the past six months

Celebrating our site teams Congratulating our record number of NHBC Pride in the Job Seal of Excellence winners

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Big Barratt NHS thank you Celebrating our heroes who have used the new NHS scheme

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Introducing the Barratt Foundation Details of the new Foundation and how this fits with our initiatives

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And finally Caption competition, prize crossword plus share your views

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What’s new

Chancellor’s visit on site

In November Chancellor Rishi Sunak visited our Hayes Village Development in London. The site was the home of the former Nestle factory and will now be redeveloped into over 1,300 new homes, with 35% affordable housing, as well as new community and commercial uses, which is all part of a wider regeneration in Hayes. Chancellor in the sales office with MD West London Nick Moore (left) and RMD London, Southern and West Gary Ennis (right)

Taking a tour around the flagship development, the Chancellor saw the magnificent conversion of the original Art Deco Sandow factory building, which was constructed in 1913 and will have its grand façade fully restored as part of its conversion into apartments. The Chancellor also spoke to our sales and site teams, sub-contractors and apprentices who were all working on the site. The Chancellor saw first-hand how the COVID-secure measures we’ve put in place, with our measures the first of any major housebuilder to be certified by the British Safety Council, are enabling our teams to work safely to build and sell much-needed high quality homes and places.

Regional Managing Director Gary Ennis, who welcomed the Chancellor to the site, said: “It was a privilege for the team to welcome the Chancellor to Hayes Village and to talk to him about the importance of delivering high quality new homes and customer service across the business. We were also able to discuss our plans to build back better and how we can play our role in a green recovery, and it was clear from everyone involved just how proud they are of this high quality development.” During the visit, the Chancellor congratulated the business on achieving the HBF 5 Star Customer Satisfaction rating for 11 years in a row, recognition of our industry-leading status in both build quality and customer care.

Changes to fibre installation across all future sites Together with Openreach, Virgin and Hyperoptic, we’ve recently introduced an industry-first unified communications provider strategy which will not only benefit our customers by giving them the greatest choice of broadband providers and packages, but it will also simplify our construction and procurement processes. With our customers spending more time at home as a result of COVID-19, there has never been a greater need for fast and reliable broadband. Implementing this strategy across our sites will facilitate our customers enjoying best-in-class choice of over 18 different ISPs, delivering the fastest, most reliable speeds and greatest range of packages, contract options and costs.

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Our divisions will benefit from a simplified fibre procurement process, reducing time, effort, complexity, and inconsistency. We have pioneered an industry-first approach enabling all providers to share chambers leading to significantly reduced groundwork costs, and improved external and internal aesthetic for equipment layout. We’re proud to lead the industry with this new strategy and congratulations to the team for rolling this out across the business.


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Signing up to the Social Mobility Pledge We recently became one of the leading businesses to sign up to the Social Mobility Pledge, aiming to build careers and close opportunity gaps within the sector. The Social Mobility Pledge is an initiative cofounded in 2018 by Rt Hon Justine Greening, the former Secretary of State for Education, which asks organisations and universities to ‘level up’ Britain by collaborating with local schools, offering apprenticeships and using open and fair recruitment practices. The Opportunity Action Plan, which was launched alongside the pledge, sets out areas of best practice, where others can learn from us, as well as recommendations to help us support more people in their careers, unhindered by their background. Taking action to support social mobility creates opportunities for everyone and builds a stronger, more diverse and more effective business at the same time. Justine Greening said: “Achieving true social mobility in Britain and levelling up our country is a huge challenge but one that businesses and universities are rising to. I am delighted that Barratt Developments

is at the forefront of this environment, social and corporate governance agenda. Publishing this action plan sends out a clear signal that Barratt is raising the standard of corporate ESG, it was great to visit the team and to meet their apprentices who showed me their skills.”

Our commitment to this plan reflects one of our business priorities, investing in our people, as we recognise that our employees are key to our success. We also want to attract the best people into our business, not only as we continue to face a skills crisis in the sector but also to ensure that we can continue to be industry-leading in the future.

Achieving true social mobility in Britain and levelling up our country is a huge challenge...

Justine recently met one of our current apprentices, Joshua Jiffur, at Stephenson College, Leicestershire, to launch the plan and tried her hand at bricklaying and carpentry at the Barratt Apprentice Academy based at the college

The IT Service Desk is changing The way we contact the service desk is changing to improve our IT support experience, with a new digital system enabling our IT teams to respond to requests and fix problems faster. The old paper forms are being replaced, and for the first time we will be able to solve many issues ourselves, including forgotten passwords. Colleagues will be able to access the new 24/7 services, with a dedicated site providing new tools to help answer your questions quicker, a chat function to guide you to the right person or solution plus an online catalogue of IT products and services instead of the manual forms. You’ll also be able to monitor the progress of your requests online rather than having to call or email for updates. While you’ll still be able to call the IT Service Desk on the usual number, emails to itservicedesk@barrattplc.co.uk will no longer be available.

As part of this project, all IT Service Desk operations will be handled by SCC. SCC is a large, UK-based multinational IT services and solutions provider with offices in the UK, France, Spain, Romania and Vietnam. We have already been working with SCC who have been providing overflow support to the IT Service Desk. We’ll share additional updates ahead of the launch including guidance, as well as information for managers and PAs who may be asked to approve requests for user access, products or services.

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Leading construction We were very proud to win three awards at The Housebuilder Awards 2020.

Watch David Thomas’ acceptance speech from the awards

At the virtual events ceremony, Barratt Developments was named Large Housebuilder of the Year, which is the second year in a row that we have won this award and the third time we’ve won the award in five years, an unprecedented achievement. This is an incredible feat for the business and an honour to receive this recognition at these awards, particularly given the unusual year we’ve had, and is a testament to our colleagues’ dedication and hard work across the business. Our Southern Counties division also took home the award for Best Refurbishment Project for The White Building. The iconic factory on the flagship Chapel Gate development in Basingstoke has had its Art Deco period features carefully preserved to restore the former medical building to its past glory and create 96 apartments. We were also highly commended in the Sustainable Housebuilder of the Year category. Receiving this commendation recognises our commitment to become the country’s leading national sustainable housebuilder. Over the past year we have set new carbon reduction targets and pledged to take our responsibility for our share of carbon emissions and to play our part in combating climate change, which you can read more about in this issue.

Congratulations to our other finalists as well, with West London’s Hendon Waterside development nominated for the Best Regeneration Initiative and their High Street Quarter site for Best Design for Four or More Storeys. In a truly unprecedented year, these awards underline the high standard of work that our teams deliver day in and day out. As well as winning this prestigious award for the third time, as you know we were awarded HBF’s maximum 5 Star customer satisfaction rating for the 11th year in a row in 2020. We are also incredibly proud of our site managers, who once again excelled with 92 NHBC Pride in the Job Awards, more than any other housebuilder for the 16th consecutive year, with 36 going on to win Seal of Excellence awards and seven winning regional awards. These accolades really do evidence our commitment to lead the future of housebuilding by putting customers at the heart of everything we do. Congratulations once again to all of our teams and thank you for your hard work.

The White Building lit up to celebrate our frontline heroes last year The team celebrating winning Large Housebuilder of the Year Award at the 2019 event

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Promoting diversity and inclusion 2020 was a challenging year for all, but fortunately diversity and inclusion initiatives around the company have continued to progress and thrive. In the past 18 months we have started a couple of employee networks. This includes our gender equality network, Under One Roof, and more recently our LGBT+ network which has established its first committee who will lead the network in their activities. Thanks to the introduction of Teams across the business, these groups are now able to virtually meet face-to-face, inspiring thought provoking discussions and making plans for the future. An exciting new development means that anyone from across the business can now see what’s going on within these groups through Our Place and can contribute to discussions without having to commit to being an official member of the network. To access this and see what the networks are up to, head over to Our Place and click on the Building without Barriers button on the homepage. We really would like to hear from everyone and anyone. In addition to our employee networks, 2020 brought our new Connect groups. Our Barratt Connect group was set up during the first lockdown for anyone missing the social interaction of the office. These sessions are held monthly and anyone is welcome to “pop in”. Similarly, we have also started a Connect Parents, which gives parents an opportunity to share tips, resources and to vent about becoming teachers. This group is currently looking to expand its committee, if you’d be interested in this please contact Jo or Becky. For more details about our Connect groups, visit Our Place.

Watch this short video to find out why it’s crucial to check and update your information

In other news, delegates from our female leadership development programme Catalyst were able to join a virtual festival in October. The festival was full of sessions on everything from managing perceptions, to confidence with feedback, with employees calling it “inspiring, motivating and engaging”. The virtual environment we find ourselves in has meant that we have been able to host a number of virtual work placements across the company in partnership with Whizz–Kidz. We have worked with this fantastic charity for a number of years who support and provide equipment for young wheelchair users. If you would like to learn more about hosting a virtual placement with Whizz-Kidz please contact Anna Nichols. Finally, to ensure we can support employees in the best way possible, it is so important that your information is up to date on MyHR. Find out why it’s crucial to check and update your information in this short video and please go to the sensitive data tab on MyHR.

If you would like to know more on any of the above or have any thoughts or ideas, please do get in touch with our Diversity and Inclusion Managers Jo Clay and Becky Nicholls.

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Keeping people safe Health and safety continues to be our number one priority, and this has been particularly important as we’ve responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and put in place a number of measures to keep our colleagues, customers, sub-contractors and suppliers safe. While our teams across the business continue to follow our COVID-secure measures to help keep our business operating as close to normal as possible, it’s also vital that we don’t forget the basics.

Initiatives like this have led to us achieving the maximum 5 Star status as part of the British Safety Council’s Occupational Health and Safety Audit and reflects our best practice in health and safety policies, processes and practices.

Working on construction sites means exposure to hazardous and dangerous situations every day. This is why ensuring that we mitigate risks as much as we can is therefore fundamental, and an important principle for our business.

By using the 5 Steps to Safety every day, we can help to improve on areas like slips and trips which remain one of our biggest causes of reportable injuries. It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that conditions are appropriate and that good housekeeping is maintained. Teams on site need to make sure that sufficient provisions are made to enable a site to be kept tidy and walkways are flat and free of trip hazards.

One of the ways we can all play our part is by using the 5 Steps to Safety, which promotes the importance of a safe working environment. The programme, which has been commended by the NHBC as a leading health and safety initiative in the industry, encourages positive behaviours and a culture of assessing risks prior to undertaking work activities.

With everyone’s help, we can work to reduce these preventable injuries and help keep everyone safe.

Watch this short video to see what health and safety means to our colleagues. Watch our Chief Operating Officer, Steven Boyes, talk more about the 5 Steps to Safety.

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Team Golden Bricks Since August, the 2019 ASPIRE Graduate cohort have been busy taking part in the Million Makers Project for The Prince’s Trust, striving to raise as much money as possible to help change the lives of young people. From jumping out of planes, to climbing England’s highest mountain and running crazy distances, the graduates have had a fantastic time pushing themselves to the limit and using their entrepreneurial skills to raise as much as possible for the charity! In November, the graduates ran their Golden Gifts raffles, giving colleagues the chance to win great prizes whilst helping to raise money for The Prince’s Trust. With prizes from a pizza oven and a signed hand of God picture, to treats to pamper loved ones, and a luxury hotel stay, thousands of colleagues got involved and helped raise more than £3,000, so thank you to everyone who took part.

Across January and February, colleagues across the Group were invited to take part in the 500K Challenge, to celebrate building our 500,000th home. Throughout the three weeks, divisions have been challenged to run, cycle, walk, row and swim to raise money for The Prince’s Trust, hoping to raise £1,000 in each division and cover 500,000 metres each. The winning division along with the total distance covered by everyone across the company will be announced in February.

The 2019 ASPIRE Graduate cohort

As part of the project, the graduates also produced and ran “Building Beginnings”, a programme that gives soon-to-be school leavers the opportunity to gain an insight into what a career in construction could look like. The project had great success, and was introduced to the HBF who have shown a keen interest in producing their own version of the programme to encourage other industry members to draw on and use. Well done Team Golden Bricks!

In October, Sarah jumped from a plane at 14,000ft, falling at 120mph

Anna raised an amazing amount of money by climbing up England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike

TEAM GOLDEN BRICKS

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The Big Interview Georgina Butler Biography Barratt Developments Group Partnerships Director (2020 – present) Group Affordable Housing Director (2017 – 2020) Regional Affordable Housing Director, London & Southern (2015-2017) Morris Homes Group Director of Affordable Housing (2005-2015) Taylor Woodrow Partnership Housing Manager, West Mids, Wales & South West (2004-2005)

Where were you born?

Favourite food?

Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

I love Indian and trying new recipes, although I have some firm favourites.

Two things people wouldn’t know about you … I started working at the Birmingham NEC selling the merchandise of the bands when I was 13 years old (this would never be allowed today). I used to do my homework in the bar when the band was on! The first ever concert I worked was Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, with over 15,000 people in the audience… think I am showing my age. I passed my motorbike test when I was 18 years old and used to go to motorcycle rallies up and down the country, where there was lots of rock music, bungee jumping and rowdy crowds.

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Last book you read? I have not read a book for ages, I generally listen to podcasts now. Last podcast I listened to was The Night Driver – true story - by the Australian newspaper. Dream holiday destination? Japan. I have always wanted to go there with a personal tour guide to take me to the real Japan!


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After being with the company for more than five years, Georgina Butler was recently promoted to Group Partnerships Director. We spoke to Georgina to find out more about what her role involves and her priorities over the next 12 months. As part of your role, you oversee both Barratt Partnerships and Affordable Housing across the Group. Can you tell us more about each of these elements of the business? Barratt Partnerships is a Group Support Function based in the North West office in Warrington, who specialise in Affordable Housing, Public Land, Strategic Land and large sites, Funding Applications and Special Projects. With the retirement of my predecessor, there was a restructure of the Partnerships area of the business to bring all public sector activities under one umbrella. We work with a range of external partners, for example registered providers, Homes England, Local Authorities and landowners to name but a few. We also support our internal customers including other Group functions as well as regions and divisions to assist with affordable housing, bid management, project management and the preparation of funding applications. At all stages, divisions are fully engaged and retain ownership of bids, developments and funding applications. Our aim is to ensure Barratt is the Developer of Choice for our partners during the selection and delivery of private and public sector partnering opportunities, including affordable housing. I believe we also add significant value to the business in successfully navigating the ambitions and programmes of our key partners, by offering expertise and solutions. We also seek out new opportunities, by keeping the business updated on continual changes that affect us. The Affordable Housing side is an important part of our business and we completed 2,466 affordable homes in FY20. We also had a forward sales position of 8,201 affordable homes at our full year on 30 June 2020. In FY20, we accepted 83 tenders from 47 different registered providers, showing the vast network of partners that we have. We can deliver between 10–40% affordable housing on each site with our registered provider partners, depending on Local Authority requirements. Overall affordable housing accounts for 20% of our homes each year. It is worth pointing out that the delivery of affordable homes, whether exchanging contracts or handing over plots is an integral part of our business and we are proud that so many registered providers want to work with us on the delivery of these homes.

As Group Partnerships Director, what are your key priorities over the next 12 months? I think particularly given the uncertainty that the pandemic could cause, continuity will be important. So we’re continuing to engage with divisions and other Group functions to ensure we support their business priorities. We’ll also maintain and cultivate our relationships with public and private sector partners. I’m also keen to continue building on our successful track record of delivery. It’s also key to investigate new initiatives that arise with new registered providers entering the market. We’ll be streamlining affordable housing delivery to ensure we continue with a consistent and standardised approach across all divisions. This includes sharing best practice and market intelligence across the business, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. And finally, I’ll be supporting and developing the Barratt Partnerships team as they undertake new activities in support of the business.

One of our five leading principles is being a trusted partner; what do you think makes an effective partnership? I think this is a really important subject and so key to what we do as a business. Firstly, I’d say close collaboration is key, being accessible to our partners and continually building and evolving the relationship. As with any partnerships, communication is vital. Our partners have a central point of contact to discuss new opportunities or problem solve any issues that arise, so they know they are being listened to. We also need to deliver, achieving what we say we will do, by when we say we will do it. Milestones are key for our partners and they trust us to deliver their internal targets. I also think our reputation plays a crucial role; the knowledge that Barratt is a 5 Star housebuilder with a track record of quality is a strong factor in why our partners work with us and helps to build our relationships.

Traditionally construction has been a sector where there have been relatively few women in management or senior positions. What advice would you give to women who want to progress their careers? Everyone should have confidence in their own ability and know that you have got where you are because of your talent. Do not be afraid to express your opinion and expertise, or ask the important questions if you need help and assistance. In construction, nothing stays the same, so we learn something new each day. Also, if you’re passionate about what you do, this will shine through. I think having a good mentor means everything, no matter what level you are at in your career. Barratt is an excellent place for mentoring, whether that be through a formal process, or on an ad hoc basis. I have been very lucky to have great mentors at Barratt and I am now mentoring some women to offer something back on what I have learned.

And finally, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time? To help keep me active, I have a personal trainer who motivates me to go to the gym, otherwise I’d never go! I think it’s so important to look after ourselves and it helps me to switch off as well. I also like cooking, which is handy, as I’ve been cooking up huge batches of food for my neighbours and parents in these difficult times. It seems like I have set up my own meals on wheels, and I now get asked to cook specific dishes! I love entertaining and having friends and family round to have a meal with lots and lots of courses with wine and I’m really looking forward to when we can do this again.

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Celebrating our 500,000th home Towards the end of 2020 we celebrated completing our 500,000th home. This is the third major milestone we’ve reached in the last three years, following our 60th anniversary and achieving HBF 5 Star status for ten years. Over the years, we’ve not only built homes but we have created communities. We built our first Barratt home in 1958 and reaching the milestone of completing our 500,000th home is an incredible achievement and reflects the hard work and commitment from all of our teams now and over the last 62 years. If you take the average household as 2.4 people, 500,000 homes equates to a population of 1.2 million. This means that the number of people living in Barratt homes across the UK is higher than the number of people living in any other city in the UK, outside of London. To celebrate this milestone, in December last year, all employees below Managing Director level were given a special award of 200 shares, with part time employees receiving a pro rata award. The past year has been challenging and this award recognises all of our colleagues’ efforts, so that together we can share the success of the business with the people who make it possible. Over the next few months we'll be celebrating this achievement further through a multichannelled campaign. We’re focusing our activity around three key areas: Quality Design Sustainability We’ll be emphasising our credentials in these spheres and demonstrating our leadership in the industry.

There will be more information on our 500,000th home campaign in the summer edition.

500,000th housetype competition And now we want to look back over the past 62 years together and vote for your favourite housetype. The shortlist, which has been selected by our Chief Operating Officer Steven Boyes, features some of our most iconic housetypes celebrating Barratt's heritage and shows how we’ve appealed to a wide range of customers over the years to help thousands move into their dream homes. Vote for your favourite today!

12 / CELEBRATING OUR 500,000TH HOME


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We have spoken to one of our colleagues who has hit a long service milestone between July and December to find out what has kept her with the company for so long and share some of her highlights over the years.

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Our long service awards celebrate and reward those who have shown loyalty and commitment to our business. We recognise colleagues locally from five years onwards with a cash reward as well as a certificate and letter at five yearly intervals. For those achieving 20 years and more they also receive an invitation to our (normally) annual Long Service Celebration Dinner

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Ruth Draper, Payroll Manager, GSC What has kept you at Barratt? When I joined DWH back in 1995, I worked part-time after having my first child. In the last 25 years I have changed hours, moved departments, been promoted. Barratt gave me the opportunity to progress, gain my CIPP payroll foundation degree and more than anything everyone has always been supportive and I have worked with great colleagues and made some good friends. What have been your most memorable moments?

Roll of honour

Gaining my degree, attending my graduation in London, being promoted to Payroll Manager. All the Christmas parties! Entering the Christmas jumper competition with my supervisor Romelyn in our joint jumper.

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Ben Stewart Kevin Urquhart Euan Duff Adrienne McLelland Mark Fuller Timothy Howarth Robert Marley Liam Hathaway Ruth Draper Gary Ennis

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Margaret McIntosh Karen Law David Cullen Linda Graham Rachel Pollitt Peter Fallon Jamie Thompson Paul Wignall Richard Lawson Stephen Robinson Stephen Wright Andrew Swindell Giovanni Palumbo Martin McLeod Steven White Kelly Ager Sonja Jueterbock Jonathan Hills Esther Lavell Mary Bowden Roseanne Hamblin Gill Harmon

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In each issue of Foundations we recognise those who have reached a 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 years’ long service milestone over the last six months. Congratulations and thank you to all of you who reached a milestone between July and December 2020.

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CELEBRATING LONG SERVICE/ 13


Introducing the Barratt Foundation We’re proud to have recently launched the Barratt Foundation. The Foundation incorporates the charitable activities that we have introduced and grown over the past few years, including the initiatives mentioned in this article as well as our existing charity partnerships. Creating the Foundation means that we’ll be able support more organisations across the UK, and we aim to deliver projects that are focused on the following areas:

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Promotion of social inclusion, with a particular focus on helping those who are homeless and helping ex-service men and women

Protecting the physical and natural environment

Promoting health, including mental health

Advancing education

To launch the Foundation, and to celebrate our 500,000th home, we ran the Barratt 500K Giveaway in January, with ten charities receiving a share of a £500,000 donation from the Foundation. Over the two week voting period, we received more than 3,000 votes from employees for their favourite charities with Macmillan Cancer Support receiving the biggest donation of £150,000. As a business, we believe in doing the right thing and supporting our local communities and those in need, and this giveaway is one way that we can do this. So thank you to everyone who voted for their favourite charities and we look forward to sharing further updates from the Foundation.

Charity initiatives Charitable activities are a key part of our strategy for building community relationships. We’re proud to support a range of local and national good causes across the business and encourage our employees to get involved with both fundraising and volunteering.

14 / INTRODUCING THE BARRETT FOUNDATION

Colleagues from our West Scotland division took part in Wear It Pink last year, as well as holding a virtual cuppa session, raising £790 for Breast Cancer Now


FOUNDATIONS

Volunteer days To reflect our support for the NHS Volunteer Responders Programme, we recently updated our Special Leave Policy, meaning colleagues can volunteer for up to two days per month to support the NHS while vaccination centres remain open, in addition to your annual leave. It's important that we continue to look for new ways to support our local communities. If you want to find local volunteering opportunities (both remote on-going volunteering or in person opportunities), you can visit Do-IT, Volunteering Matters, Reach Volunteering, or the website of your local council. There's also some great opportunities available where charities need volunteers for a few hours, such as the RSPB.

Emma Copp from our East London division, who ran the virtual London Marathon in October for East London’s chosen charity SCOPE, with a target of £2,000

Barratt and David Wilson Community Fund Our Barratt and David Wilson Community Fund also allows our employees to support their communities by making a £1,000 donation each month to local causes. The divisions can claim this money back from Group every six months, with a total of £12,000 each year going to each division’s local good causes.

Colleagues from our West Midlands division recently donated to STAY in Telford Homeless services, with the money used to provide emergency food, toiletries and clothing parcels for those in need

Divisional matching Since 2018 the Group has matched the amount colleagues raise for their chosen charities, with divisions able to claim up to £15k, and £20k for group support functions combined.

Individual matching In addition to divisional matching, we also have individual charity matching to support colleagues' fundraising efforts, meaning you can now receive between £500 and £1,000 in charity matching for a chosen charity each year (rounded up to the nearest pound).

Payroll Giving We know that employees across the business give money to charities each month, but did you know you could manage all your donations from one place? Payroll Giving provides you with the opportunity to do just this. A great benefit for donating via Payroll Giving is that charities receive even more money, as it comes straight out of your pay before tax is deducted. Plus, an added benefit for 2021 is that any donations that are made through Payroll Giving will be matched by the business, including any existing donations. So why not sign up online through My Barratt Benefits, and give even more to the causes that matter most to you. INTRODUCING THE BARRATT FOUNDATION / 15


Looking after our people Our people are key to the success of our business, which is why we’re continually looking at how we can improve and enhance our employee benefits to set us aside as employer of choice.

My Barratt Benefits We offer contractual benefits which are detailed in your contract of employment alongside other benefits that you receive as a Barratt employee and include the Employee Assistance Programme, My Barratt Staff Shop and BD Living employee discount. Employees are also entitled to a number of enhanced policies including maternity and paternity leave and flexible working, plus recognition activities such as the Customer First Employee Recognition Scheme and the Long Service Awards policy. Find out more about all of the benefits available to employees here.

Physical

Mental

Online exercise sessions including lunchtime chair Yoga

Workshops for boosting energy, improving posture and food for the mind

Health and wellbeing

Discounted gym membership

Looking after our people also means ensuring that we provide the support and advice that you need, which is why health and wellbeing is so important to us.

My Active Discounts

Here’s a look at some of the advice and support available to colleagues, and we’ll continue to share the latest updates in our monthly newsletters.

Bupa Cash Plan

Regular mindfulness and meditation sessions

Managing your own stress and mental health workshops

‘Manage the Conversation’ training for all line managers

Thinking Strategies workshop COMING SOON

Lifestyle

Annual health assessment

Financial

Retirement planning support interactive webinars Payroll Giving

Healthy home working webinar Cycle to Work schemes

Employee Assistance Support and signposting

Unum Lifeworks Our Employee Assistance Programme provides everyone with access to 24/7 confidential support through their freephone helpline, which is manned by professional counsellors to support your wellbeing. They provide expert information and advice on a range of areas including finances and parenting and have a range of handy tips and guides online. Plus colleagues have

16 / LOOKING AFTER OUR PEOPLE

access to counselling sessions as well as advice on legal issues. Contact our EAP provider, Unum LifeWorks, on freephone 0800 048 2702 (UK) or visit the LifeWorks website at unumlifeworks.co.uk (user id: unum, password: lifeworks).

Our confidential hotline, Safecall, allows colleagues to raise any concerns about improper conduct you may encounter at work. If you have any concerns that you feel you can’t speak to your manager about, you can contact Safecall confidentially. The line is open 24/7 and calls are not audio recorded. Find out more about Safecall and our procedures on Our Place.


FOUNDATIONS

Meet the Team: Workforce Forum At Barratt Developments, one of our priorities is investing in our people to create a great place to work. To help us achieve this, in 2018 we launched the Workforce Forum to improve the ways in which we engage with our employees and ensure that colleagues remain well informed.

Get in touch with the members by emailing workforce.forum@ barrattplc.co.uk

We spoke to two members of the forum, Amy Solomon (Group Surveying Manager, GSC) and Dale Suleyman (Assistant Site Manager, Kent), to find out how they got involved with the forum, what’s involved with their roles and the changes they’ve seen as a result of their input.

How did you get involved with the forum? Dale: A few years ago whilst I was working for the Phoenix Quarter development in Dartford, my now Construction Director, Bruce Constantine, suggested that I join this forum. He recognised that I was very keen on working my way up within the business, and would like to add value to Barratt. Why was the forum set up and what does it do? Amy: The forum was set up so that the Executive and Board had a point of contact with the employees and could use that contact to review items of interest such as the remuneration packages, employee benefits, IT provisions and also give feedback on trials such as the new Barratt Benefits service and the updated Our Place intranet. I think it is a good sounding board for the Executive as they are getting direct employee feedback which can be questioned and understood to help them to make better decisions for the business. Dale: The forum also represents employees at all levels of the business, and as representatives, we’re responsible for carrying these ideas and changes forward and ensuring that they are channelled properly. So what actually happens in forum meetings? Amy: The meetings cover so much. During past meetings we’ve been asked to review the new benefits offerings and the Benefits Statement which is sent out each year. We’re able to have in depth discussions with members of the Executive regarding a range of areas that impact employees and help to drive change. Pre-COVID, we also used to go on site visits and see how different parts of the business work, including our supply chain with a visit to Symphony factory and also the BD Living team.

Do you think the forum plays an important role in driving the business forward? Dale: It plays a vital role as this gives employees of all levels an opportunity to bring their views forward whether that person is a labourer or management. It gives everyone a sense of inclusion when discussing topics like pension plans and pay rises. Amy: Yes, I really do. I feel like we are listened to during these meetings and that our feedback has made a difference. I think having the forum gives the Executive great access to their employees and allows them to understand the issues which are important to them. Are there any key projects or updates that the forum’s worked on? Amy: We pushed to improve the selection of cars on the company car list and introduce electric vehicles to make Barratt more sustainable. We have reviewed some of the training offered, particularly on Diversity and Inclusion. One recommendation made by the Forum was to subtitle the videos on MyLearning, which has been adapted for future courses. Dale: One of the other ways we’ve helped on sustainability is looking at how we’re aiming to eliminate having gas appliances, installing solar panels when in the homes and thus reducing carbon footprint. How can other colleagues around the business get involved with the forum? Dale: While we’ve been nominated as forum members, we’re your representatives so everyone is encouraged to get involved and the easiest way to get in touch is via the dedicated email address. It gives everyone the opportunity to feel included and have a say no matter what the idea may be. Amy: Yes, and you can always speak directly to one of the forum members, I’d always be happy to take any feedback to the meetings.

MEET THE TEAM / 17


Projects roundup We take a tour around the country to catch up with some of our divisions about their latest schemes, and see how they’re creating new destinations as well as regenerating existing places across the UK. The divisions shared updates from some of their key developments, demonstrating how they have designed schemes that are well connected to their surrounding areas and help to establish a sense of place. The teams remind us how important it is for our sites to take advantage of existing landscape features and enhance biodiversity, while creating a distinctive character. More information on our internal placemaking initiative can be found in the Great Places booklet, which was re-launched in 2020 to include updated imagery and a new section on Health and Wellbeing: providing guidance on how to achieve healthy, inclusive communities. While hard copies are available, the booklet can also be downloaded from the Great Places website, via Our Place.

Aberdeen

North Scotland Our North Scotland division is constructing 127 homes from the Barratt Caledonia range and 102 homes from the DWH Alba range, on two parcels of the wider masterplan at Countesswells, a new community to the west of Aberdeen. The Barratt phase is nearing completion and has been extremely well received. The elevational treatments have been commented upon for their variation and well finished clean appearance, adding a fresh new dimension to the Aberdeen landscape. The DWH phase is in the early stages of construction and is the first David Wilson branded development Aberdeen will see, allowing a new type of customer the opportunity to buy in Countesswells.

Cottingham

Yorkshire East Harland Park (David Wilson) and Poppy Fields (Barratt) is a dual branded site by our Yorkshire East division, comprising 351 units overall. The DWH phase features the -7 Range and the Barratt phase features the 2016 timber frame range, including timber frame apartments. Both phases recently gained planning approval to introduce the 2020 housetype updates, including the Kirkdale, Ellerton and Denby in the latter part of the site. The Poppy Fields scheme was named to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1, with street names on the development being named after local fallen heroes.

Oughtibridge

Yorkshire West Oughtibridge Valley is a brownfield redevelopment of an historic paper mill site, situated on the northern outskirts of Sheffield, close to the Peak District. It benefits from planning consent for 284 dwellings, consisting of 249 David Wilson homes from the Yorkshire West division and 35 homes provided by their development partner, SkyHouse, designed by CODA, which consists of a mixture of converted mill buildings and bespoke new build, along with a food hall and yoga studio. The site is surrounded by ancient woodland and includes a new bridge which spans the River Don, a key natural feature that runs through the site.

18 / PROJECTS ROUNDUP


FOUNDATIONS

Tarporley

North West At Haddington Park, the North West division has constructed 100 homes, which include a mix of 2-5 bed units and a 30% affordable provision. A design code was produced specifically for this development to ensure a high quality scheme with a fitting character for the local area. Re-elevated standard DWH product was used to achieve the desired character, introducing a number of elevational enhancements and frontage boundary treatments. The site is split into two distinct character areas: a more dense, urban village featuring mews units with a strong frontage, and a softer, rural feel around the periphery of the development.

East Leake

East Midlands DWH East Midlands has recently started construction at The Skylarks, a development consisting of 235 dwellings with a private mix of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom homes. The design of the scheme includes a tree-lined internal loop road around a central green corridor and play area. Footpath links provided internally and to the development edges, along with the maintained public right of way, provide good connectivity and movement. An area of the development is protected as a ‘Skylark habitat’. On the northern edge of the development, land is retained for a potential school site.

Cambridge

Cambridgeshire Located just 1.6 miles north west of the prestigious university city, BDW Cambridgeshire’s Darwin Green is a unique, dual-branded development made up of 1,593 homes split over four phases, including a community centre, health centre, library, six retail units and a sport pavilion, all designed around a central park. Soon to launch its second phase, Phase One saw the development of 68 houses under the DWH branding and 219 apartments by Barratt Homes. The apartments feature The Courtyard @ Darwin Green, which incorporates 32 bespoke designed, one, two and three bedroom apartments.

Hayes

West London Over the last 100 years, the Nestlé Factory has been an important part of the Hayes community. However, in 2014 they relocated their production facilities to Derbyshire. In 2015, Barratt West London and SEGRO formed a partnership to bring this brownfield site back to life and deliver an exciting mixed-use development. The Hayes Village proposal seeks to strike a balance between the re-use of locally listed buildings, protecting its heritage value, and redevelopment to maximise the potential to deliver 1,386 homes (including 35% affordable), jobs, community facilities and green spaces. The project also maximises access to Crossrail, with only a 20 minute commute to Bond Street.

Swindon

South West Canalside @ Wichelstowe is the first phase of the Wichelstowe joint venture project, which has plans to build 2,500 homes over 10 years between Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes and Swindon Borough Council. The DWH parcel is made up of 91 open market homes and 8 affordable properties. This unique development runs either side of the newly restored Wilts and Berks Canal and our South West division is proud to have achieved a gold award from the RSPB for its Show Home Garden. This includes bird and bat boxes as well as scented plants and wildflower turf.

PROJECTS ROUNDUP / 19


Business change projects We take a look at the progress of some of the new systems and changes we’re making across Barratt to improve our ways of working. The team are already piecing together the advantages of the system and thinking about how that can affect their day to day work, as well as thinking about how they can change the ways of working to fit the system and speed things up for themselves – that is a great early engagement result.

Online expenses The Group-wide online expenses rollout completed in November, so everyone in Barratt who needs to claim, approve and process expenses can do so wherever there is an internet connection. Further functionality and improvements are also planned, including a ‘daily feed’ from Lloyds to corporate card holders and the ability to create an expense item by simply photographing a receipt. More information can be found on the online expenses page on Our Place

Microsoft Dynamics We’re moving our end to end customer relationship management system (CRM) into a single system for all, replacing aging systems like Adobe Marketing, PRADA and iCare. By introducing Microsoft Dynamics and moving to a single system, we can improve our customer experience by making each interaction simpler, quicker and seamless. Microsoft Dynamics 365 will play a key part in improving our lead to sale conversion and customer satisfaction scores. Although predominantly Sales, Marketing and Customer Care teams will be impacted by this change, nearly every department in the business will interact with the new system.

COINS

Stuart Parker (North Midlands Commercial Manager)

We are pleased to announce that the four COINS wave one divisions have successfully gone live with the COINS BoQ system. The teams at North Midlands and Yorkshire West went live in October and have successfully moved current, ongoing sites from iComs into COINS helping them to benefit from a single, integrated system. The deployment of COINS BoQ will continue with the wave two regions (Central and London & Southern), with go-live targeted for February 2021. This will be followed by the wave three regions (East and Scotland), with go-live scheduled in April. If you would like more information, visit the COINS project page on Our Place

Microsoft Office 365 As part of the new IT strategy we are moving many of our core IT systems onto Microsoft 365. Office 365 forms a major part of that strategy and will provide replacements for many Barratt systems such as Docushare. It is also the family of software that includes Teams, which has enabled us to continue to work together in the COVID-19 environment. New Teams functionality continues to be added, and in 2021 you will see information about how to make the most of what we already have as well as new features such as breakout rooms, which allow you to have a meeting and then divide the attendees into different rooms to continue their specific discussion or task. Our email and calendars are also now stored in Office 365, which gives us unlimited email storage and sets us up for future enhancements, such as better integration with Teams. We will also shortly be moving the old Zovy archives online into this system. All resources, including comprehensive FAQs and Getting Started guides, are held in an Office 365 Teams channel called the Office 365 Knowledge Base, to which everyone is invited to join.

20 / BUSINESS CHANGE PROJECTS


FOUNDATIONS

Improving customers' rights Our vision is to lead the future of housebuilding by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do, and with the biggest change to rights for new homeowners coming in 2021, this is more important than ever.

New Homes Ombudsman Service The New Homes Ombudsman will provide a clear route for purchasers of new build homes to raise issues, and provide effective redress through alternative dispute resolution, avoiding the need to go to court. All developers will be required to belong to the Ombudsman Service, which will be independent of the industry, and free to consumers. The NHQB is working closely with the Ombudsman Association on the process to appoint a NHOS. The intention is to appoint a body to provide a NHOS in the first quarter of this year, after which there will be a transition period during which builders will need to sign up to the new arrangements.

We’ve shown that we’re industry leading when it comes to looking after our customers, achieving HBF 5 Star status for 11 years in a row, but we must continue to do the right thing. We take a look at the changes coming in 2021 to improve customer rights, and why it’ll be crucial to get things right first time and resolve issues quickly.

In a step towards establishing the New Homes Ombudsman Service, the interim New Home Quality Board (NHQB) was launched last year. The NHQB is an independent body that will have responsibility for overseeing the quality of new build homes, the customer service provided by housebuilders, and consumer redress for the buyers of new homes. These arrangements include the introduction of a new industry Code of Practice, and the appointment of a New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS).

New Homes Code The Code of Practice, committed to ensuring the fair treatment of customers, aims to build on existing protections and the consumer codes already in place that cover the sales process. It will cover important aspects of the construction and inspection processes, as well as the sales process, and intends to place requirements on the relevant parties involved. Work done to identify ‘gaps’ in existing protections made clear that the biggest issue for new home buyers was a lack of adequate redress, particularly with regards to ‘snagging’ issues, once customers moved into a new home. The new code will set out clear requirements for builders to have effective complaints procedures in place, with specified timelines within which they have to resolve any issues that arise with a new home to the customer’s satisfaction, or be subject to a NHOS referral. The new code also allows for a customer to carry out a pre-completion inspection. Over the coming months we’ll be sharing more details about these changes to customer rights and what this means for our business and our teams. IMPROVING CUSTOMER RIGHTS / 21


Building a sustainable future Our commitment to being a sustainable and responsible business is more important than ever, particularly as the global challenge of climate change has implications for every nation and industry sector. In the past year, we have introduced more ambitious targets to reduce all aspects of our environmental footprint. These include reducing carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption, to reducing resource consumption and waste. We also aim to continue enhancing biodiversity and natural capital and source responsibly.

Three new carbon reduction targets As part of our drive to become the country’s leading national sustainable housebuilder, we have introduced three new industry leading carbon reduction targets:

1. 2. 3.

Buy 100% of our electricity from renewable tariffs by 2025

Over two thirds of electricity used in our offices and on construction sites is already sourced from renewable generation such as wind. Achieving the new 100% target will help us to reduce emissions even further.

Ensure all new homes are zero carbon by 2030

This will be achieved through continuing with a fabric first approach, taking our energy efficiency even further, and introducing new green technologies.

Achieve net zero carbon in our operations by 2040

Last year we became the first national housebuilder to publish approved science based targets for reducing carbon emissions.

Calculate your footprint with the Barratt Eco Calculator Don’t forget, you can calculate your personal ecological impact using the Barratt Eco Calculator. Handy tips on reducing your footprint can also save you money and improve your health too. Take five minutes to find out your score today: barrattecocalc.co.uk 22 / BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Leading CDP score In 2020 we were delighted to be the only housebuilder to improve scores across all three CDP submissions and also move to a leadership level for climate disclosure. CDP is a major reporting index that we disclose to each year, alongside thousands of other companies. We disclose how we measure and manage risks and opportunities across climate change, water security and deforestation. Climate Change: A-

Forests: B

Water: B-


FOUNDATIONS

Housebuilder Awards We were delighted to be highly commended in the Sustainable Housebuilder of the Year category at the Housebuilder Awards 2020 which took place as a virtual ceremony in December. Judges were looking for a housebuilder who has successfully improved the all-round sustainability credentials of their company, their developments and the products employed. Our achievements in carbon emissions reduction, use of MMC and actions such as our recruitment of a Sustainability Director were recognised by the judges. Receiving this commendation demonstrates our commitment to become the country’s leading national sustainable housebuilder.

See if you can save money with the Big Clean Switch You could receive an exclusive £25 account credit when you switch to a renewable tariff through our partnership with the Big Clean Switch. The Big Clean Switch helps homes save over £270 a year on average per switch. This is the carbon equivalent of taking a car off the road for more than six months of the year, every year. So why not see if you can save money and reduce your carbon footprint by switching now: bigcleanswitch.org/barratt

One Planet Pledge Barratt Developments has become a founding member of the One Planet Pledge, a new campaign launched to encourage companies to help the UK reach net zero emissions. Purpose-led organisations make their public and ambitious pledge by setting their own target date for hitting net zero. The One Planet Pledge was founded by former Cabinet Minister, Rt Hon Justine Greening who draws on her experience as the United Kingdom’s former Secretary of State for International Development. Rt Hon Justine Greening said: “There can be absolutely no doubt that climate change is one of the most urgent and pressing challenges that we face. As UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres has said, ‘the climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.”

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE / 23


Celebrating our site teams As a business, we are committed to leading the industry in both high-quality build and excellent customer service. This is why we are all proud of our teams across the business for continuing to win more Pride in the Job Quality Awards than any other housebuilder. In July we announced that 92 of our site managers won Pride in the Job Quality Awards, picking up more awards than any other housebuilder for the 16th year in a row! And we were delighted that 36 of them have gone on to win Seal of Excellence awards. That's more than any other housebuilder has won in any single year, beating our previous record of 27 in 2013! To help celebrate our award-winning site managers, and as we weren’t able to get them together to celebrate their success, we asked four of our winners, Rebecca, Hayley, Darren and Neil, on what winning a Pride in the Job award means to them. Watch the video here.

Leading Construction continues to be a key component of our Vision, Priorities and Principles, and we know that our site teams play a crucial role in ensuring our business remains industry-leading in this area and delivering for our customers. In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, winning these awards serves to underline the high standard of work that our site managers and their teams deliver day in and day out. So well done to all of our site managers recognised throughout the awards, and of course their colleagues who make this success a real team effort.

A special congratulations also goes out to our regional winners, where we've won seven out of the ten categories we entered:

2020 Regional winners: Kirk Raine, Mercia, The Grove at Doseley Park

Steven Jordan, Manchester, Willow Gardens

Mark Summersgill, North East, Greytowers Village

Paul Oakley, Merica, Goitre Fach

Peter Lawrie, East Scotland, The Heathers

Henry Patecki, East Midlands, Wigston Meadows

Jamie Fox, Eastern Counties, St. Andrews Gate

2020 Seal of Excellence winners: Scotland:

Northern:

Central:

East:

Barrie Mitchell, East Scotland, Heritage Grange

Craig Hindmarch, North East, Cherry Park

Steven Jordan, Manchester, Willow Gardens

Michele Raucci, Cambridge, Hampton Water

Rob Ruffy, Eastern Counties, Blackwater Reach

Jack Davey, Northampton, Lyveden Fields

Ewan Maclean, East Scotland, Heritage Grange

Mark Summersgill, North East, Greytowers Village

Sean O'Regan, Manchester, Hillside Central

Craig Ison, East Midlands, Dunstall Park

Darren Price, Northampton, Willow Grove

Garry Du Pille, South Midlands, The Nurseries

Peter Lawrie, East Scotland, he Heathers

Darren Thornton, Yorkshire East, Gateford Park

Dean Newbold, Mercia, Bishops Hill

Dane Mumford, East Midlands, Roman's Quarter

Craig Hodge, Southern, The Chase

Shaun Quinn, East Scotland, Greenacres

Jay Kerman, Yorkshire East, Mortimer Park

Roy Kelly, Northampton, Fairfields (Phase 3D & 5E)

Jeff Calder, North Scotland, Ness Castle

Neil Pendlebury, Yorkshire East, Park Edge

London and Southern:

Liam Pettet, North Midlands, Fernwood Village

Ian Crockford, West Midlands, Dunstall Park

Matt Annalls, Southampton, Madgwick Park

West:

Kurt Patterson, South Wales, Maes Y Deri

Phil Cripps, Southampton, Saxon Corner

Darren Hall, Exeter, Embden Grange

24 / CELEBRATING OUR SITE TEAMS

Ian Green, Mercia, B5 Central Kirk Raine, Merica, The Grove at Doseley Park Paul Moore, Mercia, Hallam Park

Paul Oakley, South Wales, Goitre Fach

Henry Patecki, East Midlands, Wigston Meadows Zoe Stothard, East Midlands, David Wilson Homes @ Mickleover Jamie Fox, Eastern Counties, St. Andrews Gate Reuben Linehan, Eastern Counties, Clements Gate

Congratulations to all of our award-winning site managers!


FOUNDATIONS

Big Barratt

thank you

In June we launched our NHS Deposit Contribution Scheme, to say a big thank you to our brilliant NHS workers who have shown such courage in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, giving a 5% deposit to help them buy a new home. The new scheme is a way of offering a heartfelt thank you to the country’s 1.5 million NHS workers who will now be able to receive up to £15,000 towards buying any new Barratt or David Wilson home. Here we take a look at how the scheme has helped some of our NHS customers.

Roisin, Harwood Park, West Lothian Roisin Farrell, a data analyst with the NHS, felt her flat in Edinburgh was closing in on her during lockdown, and often found herself day-dreaming of having a home with a garden and easy access to open green spaces. Roisin, originally from Ireland, did some research and stumbled upon Harwood Park in West Lothian where she found her dream home in the form of a four-bedroom detached Fenton villa.

The Johnson Family, Canalside, Wichelstowe Gemma, a diabetes specialist nurse and her husband Matthew, an endoscopy nurse, said they were fast outgrowing their current twobedroom house in Royal Wootton Basset, and the NHS offer has made it possible for them to buy their first family home. Gemma said: “The NHS Deposit Contribution Scheme has made all the difference to us being able to buy a bigger four-bedroom house. We also combined this with the Help to Buy scheme and I honestly don’t know when we would have been able to move if it wasn’t for this extra support. But this discount is about so much more than money – it’s lovely to have this recognition of the work that the NHS does.”

“Once I knew about the scheme, I found Harwood Park and called the sales advisor to find out what was available and she elaborated on Barratt's NHS scheme, which was so helpful. Working from home in a flat is tough, but since moving here, I’ve found it to be quite enjoyable. And when the time comes for me to go back into the office, I’m a short drive along the M8 to the Gyle, and I’m there.” Roisin Farrell

Once again, a huge thank you to our NHS heroes and we look forward to sharing more about how we’re putting our customers first.

Jack and Felicity, The Moorings, Rugby Jack Dudley and Felicity Fowler, who are both based at Mereway Ambulance Station in Northampton, weren’t planning to purchase their first home in 2020 but jumped at the chance to make the most of David Wilson Homes’ 5% deposit boost at the Crick Road development. Jack said: “It’s such a generous offer and we’ve made a huge saving on our deposit. We’d just raised a 5% deposit ourselves through putting a certain amount away each month, so it came at a great time for us. The Moorings offered the ideal location for us as it’s just over a 20-minute drive on the M1 for us to get to the ambulance station, and we’re still close to our parents.”

Chloe and Matt, Haywoods Heath, West Sussex First time buyers Chloe Coward and Matt Hirons recently benefitted from the scheme, purchasing a property in Haywards Heath at Barratt Homes’ Wychwood Park development. With both of them working for the NHS, Chloe as a family support worker and Matt as a paramedic, the deposit scheme helped to boost their funds, which allowed them to upgrade from a two-bedroom flat they originally had their eye on to a much more spacious coach house with a share of the freehold. Chloe said: “We had been looking at buying for a really long time. Both of us were living at home with my mum just south of Horsham during the first lockdown and it felt a bit crowded with everyone on top of each other. We never thought we’d be able to save enough for a deposit, but with support from the NHS Deposit Contribution and Help To Buy schemes, the dream became a reality.”

BIG BARRATT NHS THANK YOU / 25


And finally

Share your views

Caption competition Our team in North Scotland have some new furry recruits, but what do you think they’re barking to each other? Email us at employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk by Wednesday 31 March to be in with a chance of winning a gift card. We’ll also print the best suggestion in the next issue.

We’d love your feedback on how we can continue to improve Foundations. So whether there’s any types of stories you’d love to hear about or anything else you can think of, please email employee.communication@ barrattplc.co.uk

And the winner is… Thanks to all the readers who sent in captions for our last competition, with our Sales Adviser Tom Ustic from South Midlands showing homeowners one of the new community spaces on site in Brooklands. The winning caption came from Amanda Stumbles, Receptionist at Kent who has won a Marks & Spencer gift card worth £50.

On a sliding scale, life looks so much better from the top

The prize crossword 1

2

3

6

4

To take part in the prize crossword you can either fill in the form online here or take a photo with your phone, sending your entry to employee.communication@barrattplc.co.uk. 5

7

9

8 10 11

12

13

14

Across: 1. General António? (8) 4. Marathon runner, Emma (4) 6. Get money for charity? (5) 7. A guest in your new home (7) 8. Putting the magazine issue together (6) 9. Volunteering opportunity (5) 11. Fundraising project for The Prince's Trust (7,6) 12. Area in East Midlands (5) 13. Internet search tool (6) 16. Needed for lunchtime exercise (4,3) 17. A countryside home? (5)

18. Congratulations on 25 years Mr Duff (4) 19. Describes our Chapel Gate development (8) Down: 1. Regional Managing Director (4) 2. Major milestone number (5) 3. The footprint we’ve reduced (13) 5. Exchange of money for goods (8) 10. These benefits are for you (8) 14. Country positioning (5) 15. How we thanked carers in 2020 (4)

£50

15 16

18

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Congratulations Congratulations to the winner of our last crossword, Nicola Spencer, Sales Advisor in Yorkshire West who received a Marks and Spencer gift card worth £50.


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