Cover Feature

Paul Cherpeau, Chief Executive of Liverpool Chamber, and Christine Vaudrey, Director of Strategy and Communications at Torus,

discuss how innovation and partnerships can fuel socio-economic recovery and positively impact upon people and place.

Paul: Welcome, Christine. As the pandemic continues to impact our communities and businesses can you start by sharing your headline views on where we are now?

Christine: Absolutely. The sense of renewed purpose and inspiration that traditionally comes with New Year seems more important than ever in these first days of 2022.

With COVID-19 continuing to impact people, communities and businesses across Liverpool, maintaining business continuity and high-quality customer services rightly remains top of our list of collective priorities.

Yet it is important to remember just how far we have come since the UK’s first lockdown almost two years ago, and how embracing innovation and new partnerships has unlocked new pathways to sustainable growth.

Strategic innovation projects have a critical part to play to support economic recovery and drive the lasting placebased impacts our city needs.

Paul: How would you describe Torus?

Christine: Torus is a growth and regeneration group with a social purpose. We work in partnership with Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Warrington and the wider North West to improve lives and support thriving, vibrant communities.

High-quality affordable housing is the bedrock of our offer to communities, and has been in Liverpool since 2008. Our portfolio of around 40,000 homes gives people and families a place they can call home, somewhere they feel safe and somewhere they can afford.

Torus also has a wider transformational role, centred around people and place-based change. Housing providers occupy a unique, and prime, position as anchor institutions in the heart of local communities, working side-by-side with residents, cross-sector public and private partners.

This drive to create more resilient, connected and aspirational neighbourhoods is enshrined in Torus’ mission: ‘growing stronger communities’.

Paul: Can you tell us more about your operating model?

Christine: Torus is simultaneously a landlord, property developer, commercial contractor and social entrepreneur. In addition to the landlord function:

• Torus Developments, a Homes England

Strategic Partner and one of the biggest developers of affordable homes in the North West, is targeting 5,600 new home completions within the next five years, both for rent and affordable home ownership. • HMS, an over £80m turnover per year construction company and contractor, undertakes new-build, repair and property maintenance works for Torus and a spectrum of external clients. • And profits generated by both

Torus Developments and HMS are reinvested into Torus Foundation, funding community projects that build social capital and strive to create better connected, independent and sustainable neighbourhoods.

It’s a ‘virtuous circle’ with income generated through commercial activity directly supporting community wealth building. This means we can make a bigger difference to enrich lives and regenerate neighbourhoods. Paul: You mention making a bigger difference. Can you give us a sense of scale?

Christine: Yes, as a large and diversified organisation with a £200m annual turnover and 1,400 people, scale is a Torus strength!

In terms of social impacts, in 2020-21 Torus Foundation helped 422 people into work, 761 to complete skills training and 34 into an apprenticeship, work placement or volunteering opportunity.

In a year when our communities were hard hit by Covid-19 we stepped up funding to support people through the crisis, with a total of £12m allocated over two years to address hardship caused by the pandemic.

Elsewhere, growth is driven through investment in existing and new housing. We invest more than £100m each year to improve existing stock and develop new affordable homes.

This investment directly supports local and regional supply chains, from architects to contractors and building materials suppliers.

Paul: How important are partnerships in delivering these impacts?

Christine: Torus cannot – and does not – work in isolation. We’re committed to working with communities, local and devolved authorities, and strategic partners, both from within and beyond our sector.

Collaboration makes sure our activities respond to changing demand, and nurture the big ideas needed to drive community wealth-building and social and economic recovery.

Paul: That leads us nicely into the innovation environment, but first how would you describe your role at Torus?

Christine: As Director of Strategy and Communications, I work to deliver the mandate set by our Chief Executive Steve Coffey, Board and Executive Management Team to unlock the strategic growth and regeneration opportunities that we need to achieve our corporate goals.

Innovation projects and cross-sector partnerships are crucial parts of this work, and are developed collaboratively with leaders across the business.

My team comprises strategy and policy, insight analysis, PR, public affairs and communications. There’s always a lot to do!

Paul: So how important is innovation to Torus?

Christine: Change is constant and managing change effectively is an absolute priority for us all.

Providing consistently excellent customer service comes first, of course. Our fundamental commitment is to maintaining the service levels that customers expect.

We need to retain sight of wider changes and challenges as well as COVID-19, from environmental sustainability and netzero agenda to the ongoing shortage of affordable homes, building safety and tenant empowerment. We cannot hit the ‘pause’ button on such priorities – even during a pandemic.

Now, more than ever, strategic innovations are essential.

Paul: Given the nature of the group, environmental sustainability must surely be a big challenge.

Christine: Yes, it’s a challenge, but also an opportunity for new approaches to drive transformational impacts for our communities.

Torus’ Environmental Sustainability Strategy, approved late last year, sets out the ambition for Torus to be a net-zero organisation by 2040. We’re committed to that target, as well as meeting EPC C across all homes by 2030.

In addition to ongoing improvements to homes, we’re actively working on new solutions to lower carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty. This includes:

• Collaborating with private and public partners, including the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to pioneer new construction technologies and methodologies that could transform the local housing and infrastructure sectors

• A commitment that at least 25% of new homes will be built using Modern

Methods of Construction (MMC), with the first schemes completed and more in the pipeline

• Trialling new technologies, including underfloor insulation project, using

Q-Bots – robots that spray insulation under floors, with minimal disruption compared to traditional methods

Like every business, we’re embarking on a long journey towards net-zero. Innovation in construction, including developing the next generation of construction skills, will be vital in the months and years to come.

Paul: How about innovative project delivery models? Christine: Melwood springs to mind as a great example.

Since taking ownership of the site in 2019, we have developed ambitious plans for a landmark mixed-use housing scheme, delivering affordable, sustainable, multigenerational living.

Community engagement has really helped to shape the project, which will provide much-needed housing for older people and those with additional care needs and put sustainability at the forefront.

And, taking an innovative approach to partnership working – in this case, the Fowler-Carragher Academy – we can save and repurpose the iconic training facilities building.

Delivering things differently through crosssector partnerships is helping to shape a positive future at Melwood. It’s a symbol of how non-traditional collaborations can benefit communities and the city alike.