Annual Review 2020
Housebuilder of the Year
Annual Review 2020
Motion, Lea Bridge
Contents
1. Vision
11. Team Hill
2. CEO Message
12. Joint Ventures
3. Financial Overview
13. Investment Partnerships
4. Area of Operation
14. Partnering for Success
5. 2020-25 Business Plan
15. Creating Communities
6. Environmental, Social and Governance
16. Placemaking
7. Social Value
17. Land
8. Evolving Brand Hill
18. Health and Safety
9. Customer, Quality, Design and Awards
19. Supply Chain
10. Portfolio
20. Tackling Homelessness
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Annual Review 2020
Rubicon, Cambridge
1. Vision
Our vision – The Hill Way For over twenty years, Hill’s values have been the consistent thread, rooted in delivering quality, distinctive places to live and to being a trusted partner to those who work with us. This has always been the key to our success.
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Image courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects and www.mir.no
Our Vision – The Hill Way
However this success has been achieved by the work of many people and as a company we carry a huge responsibility that we, our workforce and subcontractors operate in a way that is beneficial to the world around us. We have taken a bold, generational direction to significantly strengthen our model of governance and decision making, lessen our impact on the environment and elevate the contribution we make to the communities within which we work. Whilst our values remain strong, our vision has evolved, strengthening our commitment to become the UK’s leading, most trusted housebuilder, creating exceptional homes and sustainable communities.
To be the UK’s leading, most trusted housebuilder, creating exceptional homes and sustainable communities
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Annual Review 2020
2. CEO Message
Rising to the challenge
New Union Wharf, Isle of Dogs
Andy Hill MCIOB Group Chief Executive
2020 was a year unlike any other and the most challenging of my career. The Covid-19 pandemic has tested the strength of our systems, the adaptability and mental health of our workforce and confidence in the sector. My overriding emotion is one of great pride. I am proud of how our staff at Hill have adapted to maintain our exceptionally high standards of output; I am proud of the decisiveness we showed, both in being one of the first to announce the temporary closing down of all sites and business activities, and then in the speed at which we re-mobilised; and I am proud that we have continued to invest throughout the crisis and have come out the other side as a more resilient business. As a Board, we set ourselves the ambition, even in the darkest times, to come out a stronger business on the ‘other side’, whatever that may look like. Whilst the industry as a whole has fared far better than we had all imagined back in April and May of last year, I still believe we have achieved our ambition. As we went into the pandemic, we were well capitalised, had the benefit of a highly flexible business model and a first class team, and enjoyed an excellent pipeline of work.
17th
in the annual Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250
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As we move forward into 2021, all of those things, and more, remain true. We delivered an exceptional financial performance and continued to invest in our pipeline of future work. As importantly, we have invested in our people, growing staff numbers from 589 at the beginning of the year to 664 and honoured the commitment we made to our new intake of management trainees.
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Turnover up 12%
Annual Review 2020
2. CEO Message Cont.
12% We have also delivered the first of our gifted Foundation 200 homes for the homeless and become a joint venture partner of a modular construction business. In the circumstances, our financial performance has been exceptional. 2020 would have been a record breaking year for us on every financial metric had Covid-19 not struck. Despite this, we still delivered revenue growth of 12% to £652m, we handed over 1,920 homes, and profits increased slightly to £44.3m. This is an incredible achievement taking into account that we virtually closed the whole business for approximately four weeks and had months of re-mobilisation thereafter to get back to near full capacity. The results were supported by a strong sales performance in the second half of the year, with our sales rates up to 13.76 per week with a number of successful new launches, as well as good results from our established outlets. Our cash position is extremely strong, with net cash of £138m at the year end and an unused £200m Revolving Credit Facility that can be drawn upon as
required. This gives us significant funds to deploy to continue our planned growth. Our supply chain payment times are very good, down from 34 to 32 days and we put in place special measures in April and May last year to provide cashflow support to certain subcontractors. Net assets have grown to £224m as profits continued to be reinvested to drive the Group’s future success. In 2020 we signed off a new business plan. This sets our agenda for the coming five years through Turnover to 2025. up 12% We will double the size of the business by 2025, with headline turnover growing to over £1bn. We will do this in The Hill Way, becoming a leader in exemplar sustainable homes and business practices. We have adjusted our Vision, to reinforce the importance of the sustainability agenda and to better reflect the legacy
Key Highlights
Cash of 66m up 12% Turnover
12%
Modular Homes Our Foundation 200 homes are factory built and Hill has become a joint venture partner in a modular construction business.
12%
increase in turnover
£138m
£
net cash
secured 270m Cash of 66m 5 star
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awards won in 2020
£ £ £ £ £
5* £
housebuilder
for 4 years in a row
Pipeline secured 270m 12 million pledge / founation200 that we aim to leave in the communities in which we work. Our strategic plan also sees us investing further £ in people, quality and £ in MMC. £ £ £ Our core operating model will remain the same, delivering mixed tenure housing as a private Pipeline developer, in joint venture partnership, or as a delivery partner. We will continue to operate in all of our active sectors, but growth will be driven in particular by long-term estate regeneration work and investment and crystallisation of our strategic land pipeline. We will look to do this in all our current markets, with emphasis on growth in 5geographical star London and in particular regeneration projects,
£
secured 270m
£ £ £ £ £
compared to last year
12%
Cash of 66m
Pipeline
as well as our Western (based in Oxfordshire) and Southern (based in Crawley) Regions and further expansion into the south west of England via our new South West Region. Our strategy underlines a strong commitment to the ESG agenda and in this report I am delighted to announce our new commitments to carbon and biodiversity targets. We have also set ourselves clearer objectives about the social value that we will generate in the communities within which we work to ensure we maximise the benefits of our time, skills, and financial commitments.
Pipeline Family Values Hill is a family business with Andy, Greg and Tom Hill now all main board directors.
12 million pledge / founation200 5 star
† According to NextGeneration Benchmark.
12 million pledge / founation200
8
5 star
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Annual Review 2020
2. CEO Message Cont.
Westley Green We plan to deliver an 8,500 unit new town in partnership with L&Q Estates in east Cambridgeshire, our largest ever strategic land acquisition, which includes plans for schools, transport links and commercial space.
and Corporate. A fourth brand, SoloHaus, aimed at solutions for tackling homelessness, was added this year. The Hill logo has been fine tuned and our colours reimagined. As a corporate entity we now appear in a sophisticated copper; where we are selling homes we shift to a brighter, friendlier blue; and where we are working with partners we revert to our smart, familiar orange livery. Our website is being rebuilt from the ground up to reflect our new brand and to suit the post-Covid-19 sales model of virtual tours, flythroughs and digital sales progression. Our pipeline and forward order book is strong, supporting our continued managed growth. We have added 3,800 new homes to the pipeline, with a diverse range of projects reflecting our mixed tenure housebuilder model. We have signed our largest strategic land deal to date, in which we hope to deliver up to 8,500 new homes at Westley Green in east Cambridge in partnership with L&Q Estates, and completed on some major land
We have made key appointments with new Heads of Sustainability, Brendan Ritchie, Quality, Andy Mullins, and Strategic Land, Matt Tunley. Andy Fancy has joined as Managing Director of our Special Projects division, focused on estate regeneration and mixed use joint ventures, and will also be heading up our expansion into the south west.
Key People Head of Sustainability Brendan Ritchie is one of a number of important new leaders in our business.
acquisitions on placemaking led lifestyle schemes, including over 300 homes at Oxford North Canalside. We have a number of new joint venture partnerships, including two exciting estate regeneration projects in London: the Douglas Bader Estate in Barnet on which we plan to build 750 homes with Home Group; and the Teviot Estate in Tower Hamlets where we plan to build over 1,750 new homes. We also have a contracting order book of £875m, which comprises mostly repeat business but also features some new clients. Our status as a 5* housebuilder has been reconfirmed once again, a reflection of a huge amount of hard work from our site, sales and customer service teams who aim to deliver our usual standards of quality and excellence for our customers in spite of the constraints and pitfalls put in our way by Covid-19.
Customer Focus Extensive efforts were made to enable our customers to view new homes and proceed with their purchasers during the pandemic.
The recruitment of a further 27 management trainees underlines our ongoing investment in youth and the future of our sector and continues our tradition of growing our own highly talented staff. We have improved our commercial acumen with the hire of industry stalwart Rebecca Littler, who joined Hill as Group Sales and Marketing Director in the spring. We are rolling out a new brand and are in the process of constructing a new website, building on the growth of the business over recent years and reflecting our updated vision. Our brand now comprises three labels for different audiences: Customers, Partners
Environment Launched new sustainability strategy to take the company to an increased level of environmental responsibility.
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Annual Review 2020
2. CEO Message Cont.
2x
winner
Partnering For Success Fish Island Village, developed in partnership with Peabody, won the Evening Standard Grand Prix Award.
of Housebuilder of the Year, in 2015 and 2020 I was absolutely delighted that the hard work that went into 2020 was recognised with a litany of high profile awards, including some of the highest profile in the sector. The pinnacle was being named WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year for the second time. This positions us as the best of the best in our sector. We were also recognised as Medium Housebuilder of the Year at the Housebuilder awards and won the Evening Standard Grand Prix Award for our Fish Island Village scheme, developed in partnership with Peabody. None of this would be possible without Team Hill. 2020 threw a lot at us and we learned a great deal about ourselves and the business. But it also reinforced what I already knew – we have a loyal, dedicated, talented and ambitious team who are hungry for more and are unrivalled in their approach. I am both immensely proud of and thankful to Team Hill this year. There are too many people to thank, but a few special mentions are required. First, Paul Dyster, our Group Head of HSE, helped us navigate the practicalities of Covid-19, upholding the highest of standards with a smile on his face. Clare Smithson, our Head of HR, dealt with the unique challenges presented in her unflappable style. And our frontline staff, our site, sales and customer service teams, continued to carry the flag for Team Hill in the field every day as much of the country went in and out of lockdowns. No one will ever forget 2020. At Hill, we have come out the other side a stronger business for it, but I still very much hope 2021 is a return to more normal times!
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Annual Review 2020
3. Financial Overview
£1.85m £652m
donated in respect of the Group's £12m Foundation 200 pledge
in revenues
Neil Williams FCA Group Finance Director
The business has been remarkably financially resilient during what has been our most challenging year to date. With record sales and profits maintained at 2019 levels, the Group has delivered exceptional results in this very different year. This, together with a balance sheet totalling £224m, net cash of over £138m and development funding committed through to the end of 2022, puts the Group in a strong position to make the most of market conditions in years to come, whatever they may be.
2020 Trading Performance Despite much of our trading activity coming to a temporary halt when the first lockdown was announced in March 2020, the business has recorded its highest ever revenues, over £652m for the year despite closing down the business for six weeks and the major disruption caused by Covid-19. Profits are slightly ahead of last year but, not surprisingly, are behind where they would have been without the pandemic. It is difficult to be precise about the exact cost to the business of the pandemic in the year, but we estimate revenues and profits were hit by around £60m and £12m respectively. Notwithstanding that, delivering record revenues and profits slightly up on last year is a fantastic performance in a year unlike anything any of us have seen before. During the year we completed 1,960 new homes of which over 1,150 were delivered from our private sales and joint venture activities.
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£44.3m
in pre-tax profits 2019
£224m
balance sheet
2020
12% revenue increase
14% increase in net assets from previous year
1,960
new homes,
1,150
delivered from our private sales and joint venture activities
The year also saw the delivery of the first modular homes for the homeless under the Group’s Foundation 200 pledge, launched in 2019 to mark the Group’s 20th anniversary. A total of £1.85m, the first annual donation against the Group’s £12m five year pledge, was donated in the year. 2020 was a challenging year for all companies and we were (and continue to be) acutely aware of the pressures the pandemic has placed on our suppliers, agents and consultants. Our supply chain is of huge importance to Hill and we remain strongly committed to supporting them through the reduction of payment times. In 2020, we focused our efforts on reducing payment periods, recording an average reduction of two days, down to an average 32 days per invoice.
£230m in land bank which represents over
6,700
homes, generating £2.1bn of future income, with another
13,800 expected to be delivered
Balance Sheet and Funding We have always said how important it is for the business to have a strong balance sheet, and there was no better time to demonstrate this than as the pandemic began to take hold. The business’s financial resilience is founded not only on the amazing dedication and commitment of all our staff, but also on a strong and robust balance sheet. With the vast majority of profits being reinvested in the business year on year, the balance sheet continues to go from strength to strength, with net assets of £224m at the end of 2020, up 14% on the previous year. A strong balance sheet puts us in a great position to win larger, more complex developments where we can
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Annual Review 2020
3. Financial Overview
Profit (before tax)
Net Cash
128% increase on the previous year £150m
£138.3m
£125m
£
£60m £48.3m £42.6m
£30m
£60.5m
£50m £25m
£20m
£0m 2018
2019
2018
2020
2019
2020
Net Assets
Revenue
14% increase on the previous year
12% increase on the previous year £700m
£652m
£250m £196m
£200m
£509m
£150m
£300m
£100m
£200m
£0m
£0m
16
2019
2020
32
days
£200m
£50m
£100m
Supply chain payment times reduced to average of
5 year
£166m
£400m
2018
£138m
£224m
£582m
£600m
£
£10m
£16.1m
£0m
£500m
£44.3m
£40m
£75m
make an even more positive impact on the quality of lives in the communities with whom we work.
4% increase on the previous year
£50m
£100m
Net Cash of
2018
2019
2020
At the heart of the balance sheet is a net cash position that has increased significantly over the year, from £62m last year to over £138m at the year end – there has never been a better time to have a strong cash position. In addition to this, the Group has a five year £200m Rolling Credit Facility with four high street banks, committed through to the end of 2022, along with other lines of credit from other lenders. Whilst we were not drawn against these credit facilities at the year end, they will be used to a greater extent during 2021 and beyond, allowing us to invest in developments to help us deliver our longer term business plan targets. Another key component of our net assets is our land bank which had a value of £230m at the end of 2020, comprising acquired land and development costs to date. This represents over 6,700 homes either with planning or pending planning consent, which is expected to generate over £2.1bn of future income to the Group, with another 13,800 homes expected to be delivered from other opportunities currently being explored. Since the year end a number of strategic site acquisitions have taken place, increasing this land bank to approaching £300m as at the end of March 2021. 2020 was without doubt our most difficult year of operation since the Group was founded in 1999, but we have emerged with flying colours and are well positioned to make the most of market conditions in years to come. A big thank you to everyone for helping us deliver some great results in a very challenging and unusual year.
RCF with four high street banks
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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Annual Review 2020
4. Area of Operation GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Overview
OXFORDSHIRE
NORFOLK
1
With expansions into the south west and Kent, an acquisition further north and a range of new land purchases, our geographic reach has grown rapidly. CAMBRIDGESHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Overview in Numbers
165 29 72 64
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Projects in total
SUFFOLK
BRISTOL
BERKSHIRE
53
Projects completed in 2020
BEDFORDSHIRE
Projects under development
BUCKING-
HAMSHIRE WILTSHIRE
Future projects
ESSEX
SU
HERTFORDSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE OXFORDSHIRE 15 2017
BERKSHIRE
BRISTOL
1
HAMPSHIRE
LONDON
St James Quay, Norwich WILTSHIRE SURREY
WEST SUSSEX
KENT
HAMPSHIRE
WEST SUSSEX
EAST SUSSEX
Key Projects completed in 2020 Projects under development
Dissected by Norwich’s medieval city walls, St James Quay is situated on the banks of the River Wensum, with stunning views across the city and cathedral skyline. The development sits on land once owned by the famous Norwich department store, Jarrolds.
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Future projects Hill offices MMC factories
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Annual Review 2020
4. Area of Operation Cont.
London
47 11 27 9
Cambridgeshire
63 13 21 29
Projects in total Projects completed in 2020 1
Projects under development Future projects
3 20
15
Projects in total Projects completed in 2020 Projects under development
ELY
Future projects
HUNTINGDON
2 17
2
25
3 1
CAMBRIDGE
Key
53
Projects completed in 2020 Projects under development Future projects
1
Douglas Bader, NW4
Project value: £260m New homes: 750
20
2
Fish Island Village, E3
Project value: £250m New homes: 580
3
Harrow One, HA1
Project value: £70m New homes: 204
1
Marleigh, Cambridge
Project value: £540m New homes: 1,300
2
Knights Park, Eddington
Project value: £350m New homes: 834
3
Ironworks, Mill Road
Project value: £85m New homes: 236
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Annual Review 2020
5. 2020-25 Business Plan
Mosaics, Oxford Naisha Polaine Naisha is a senior advisor in the Department for International Trade’s Capital Investment division and works with both the public and private sector to identify investment opportunities.
Hill’s impressive Mosaics, the gateway development to a significant urban extension to the north of Oxford, was chosen by WhatHouse? as its 2020 Best Development.
Looking to the future As we look ahead to the future and plan out what’s next, our strong focus is on operating The Hill Way – a sustainable way of doing business. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons about our society. Through a corporate lens, the focus has sharpened on businesses that do not operate with the right morals. It has always been our strongest belief that, as a business, we do things The Hill Way: we do what we say; we take decisions for the long term rather than prioritising short-term profits; and we treat our people, clients and other stakeholders as we would be expected to be treated ourselves. We will remain family owned and run, and our values and culture will be protected. We want to be a leader in exemplar sustainable homes and sustainable business practice.
Growth Aspirations – Double Turnover and Profitability by 2025 2020 started positively for the Group, with good baseline confidence in the economy, a more stable Government with a clearer path to resolving Brexit, and housing volumes growing across all tenures. We strengthened our main Board with two additional Non-Executive Directors, Ann Santry and Naisha Polaine, and our expansion into the south west is progressing well. Despite setbacks due to Covid-19, the past year has seen some positive output and given us time to consider the needs of the Group moving forward, in particular an unprecedented level of investment into people and technology to increase our capabilities and lay the foundations for our next stage of growth.
Ann Santry Ann is the former CEO of Sovereign, a top 10 housing association, and she will help to support Hill’s planned expansion into the south west.
Whilst the impacts of Covid-19 will slightly affect our financial performance in the next two to three years, we still plan to deliver a doubling of turnover to £1bn and profitability to £100m by 2025.
Strategy – The Hill Way We will deliver on our growth ambitions, and do this in The Hill Way.
Family owned and run With two generations now sitting on the main board, the family takes its stewardship role very seriously. Key to The Hill Way is ensuring company values can evolve whilst the culture remains, positioning Hill at the forefront of the industry.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Whilst Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) has been a core activity within the Hill Group since the very start, we have not always highlighted all the fantastic work Team Hill has been undertaking over the last 21 years. We have decided to clearly define the role that we play in improving the lives of the many people who occupy our homes and buildings and the communities around them.
Environment
We want to be a leader in exemplar sustainable homes and business practice. We have made a set of firm commitments to our environmental and social legacy – detailed in Section 6 – that will help us meet this ambition.
Foundation 200 The Foundation 200 initiative will remain one of the focal points that demonstrates The Hill Way of doing business. The £12m charitable donation of 200 purpose built volumetric modular homes for homeless people over five years is Team Hill’s way of giving something back to the communities in which we work. The need for high quality move-on accommodation is more acute than ever and we hope to inspire a greater commitment from everyone to ending the challenges facing the homeless community. Foundation 200 Hill has pledged £12 million to develop 200 homes to house and support homeless people in the communities in which we operate.
Hill is committed to reaching net zero carbon in our business operations and in the homes we build by 2030.
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Annual Review 2020
St James Quay, Norwich
5. 2020-25 Business Plan Cont.
Delivering Our Growth We believe in our operating model: a housebuilder which delivers mixed tenure homes as developer, joint venture partner and contractor. We do not plan to change this and believe it places us at the forefront of long-term partnership working with the private sector, better insulates us against economic cycles, and suits our skillsets and expertise with a strong bias towards joint venture working. We will invest in a number of areas to bolster our pipeline: y Geography: our western, southern and south west areas of operation are key growth areas, growing to 20% of our activity
Regenerating Harrow Harrow One is part of Harrow Council’s £1.7bn Heart of Harrow regeneration drive and is a £70m joint venture with Origin Housing.
y Estate regeneration: estate regeneration projects are a major component of our pipeline and align excellently with our skillset and community-led, placemaking driven approach. We are delivering estate regeneration projects of more than 5,186 homes at different stages of the pipeline and are actively pursuing further opportunities y Local authority investment partnerships: Investment Partnerships with local authorities will form a key part of our growth strategy. We are perfect partners given our deep expertise, long-term approach, sustainability focus and social value offering y Strategic land: our strategic land team will look to generate a pipeline in excess of 500 homes per annum from 2025.
Refreshed Branding As detailed in Section 8, our branding is being refreshed to more accurately reflect our strategy. The Hill logo has been fine-tuned and our new brand comprises three labels for three different audiences: Corporate (banks, auditors, etc); Customers (our end user purchasers); and Partners (our housing association and local authority clients and partners). Our newest brand, SoloHaus, aims to tackle homelessness issues with modular construction processes. We are also developing a new website which improves our sales platform and better reflects our brand and operating scale.
We will make a number of investments to deliver our growth. Our key focus areas are: y Team Hill: we will invest in our people to grow and retain the talent that we have, prioritising internal promotions, rewarding staff, delivering on diversity targets and supporting key initiatives such as Women into Construction and London’s Emerging Talent Programme y Quality: we will deliver industry leading quality in product, delivery and customer service, driven by our new head of quality and industry leading BIM practices y MMC: we have co-invested in an MMC business which will help us deliver an ambitious MMC agenda, including manufacturing bathroom pods and prefabricated utility cupboards.
Create and deliver multiple large scale estate transformation projects
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Environmental For the first time ever we took part in the Next Generation Sustainability Benchmarking report. We came 9th in the list of 25 top house builders and are officially the UK’s most sustainable privately-owned housebuilder.
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Annual Review 2020
Mosaics, Oxford
Focusing on sustainability Our goal is to be a leader in exemplar sustainable homes and sustainable business practice
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T H E H I L L WAY
6. Environmental, Social and Governance
Our vision has evolved into a clear and unifying purpose which reflects our commitment to sustainability and the three ‘pillars’ of environmental, social and governance matters. “To be the UK’s leading, most trusted housebuilder, creating exceptional homes and sustainable communities.” Our goal is to be a leader in exemplar sustainable homes and sustainable business practice.
To do this we took time in 2020 to examine our strategic approach to ESG and set in place a structure that will determine how we care for the environment and support the local communities in which we work. As a result of this review, our ESG strategy has identified nine key themes, three for each of our core ESG pillars. For each key theme we have created a focus group of employees from across the company who come together on a regular basis to drive our sustainability approaches forward. The proposals they make are vetted by our Sustainability Leadership Group before being presented to our Group Board and approved for implementation in the business.
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Annual Review 2020
6. Environmental, Social and Governance Cont.
ESG Pillars Environment
Social
Governance
y Creating net-zero carbon homes
y People come first
y Strategy and responsible business
y Taking care of our natural resources
y Communities and customers
y Reporting and assurance
y Tackling homelessness
y Future proofing
y Reducing our environmental impacts
Brendan Ritchie, who joined Hill in July 2020 as Head of Sustainability, has worked with senior colleagues to develop this new strategic approach and ensure that proper oversight is given to each of our key themes and to create a free flow of innovative ideas, proposals and data reporting around the aspects of ESG that we believe are our priority areas and material to the business. We have focussed on three key areas and committed to objectives in the areas of Carbon, Biodiversity and Social Value. These objectives are the measurable steps that we will take to achieve our strategy.
Carbon Hill is committed to reaching net zero carbon in our business operations and in the homes we build. We will reach net zero carbon in our Scope 1 and 2 business operations by 2030 and net zero operational carbon in the homes we build by 2030.
Biodiversity We will leave a positive environmental legacy by achieving Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) across our portfolio of land.
Social Value We are dedicated to having a positive impact on every community we have the privilege to work in and in 2021 we will measure our social value added on all Hill activities and report on it. This will allow us to create a Social Value Plan and set targets for 2022 and beyond.
NextGeneration NextGeneration, the benchmark which assesses and ranks the UK’s 25 largest homebuilders on their sustainability performance, released its 2020 annual report on 17th March and, as new members in our first year, we were delighted to be ranked in 9th place. NextGeneration has been developed in collaboration with the industry for over 15 years but, for the first time, Hill took part in the 2020 exercise, which assessed the homes we completed in 2019. NextGeneration works by inspiring companies to report against a range of criteria relating to high quality sustainable homebuilding. NextGeneration enables homebuilders, Government, registered providers, investors, employees and the public to understand the sustainability of homebuilders’ operations and the new homes they build. It aligns very closely with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pillars upon which we have based
our approach to sustainability and as such, provides a robust framework against which we can measure our performance. In this, our first year of taking part, we have been able to validate the aspects of ESG where we already perform well and identify the areas where we have room for improvement. Knowing where the opportunities for continuous improvement lie will help to focus our efforts and drive our sustainability performance to higher levels in the future. In particular, it highlighted a need for greater external information provision in our approach to ESG, which we are currently addressing. Brendan Ritchie, Head of Sustainability, comments: “On balance we have achieved a creditable result in our first year of taking part as a full member of the NextGeneration exercise. Despite being the UK’s most sustainable privatelyowned housebuilder, it is important for us, of course, to strive to achieve a higher ranking in the future and, with the feedback from our 2020 involvement, that’s exactly what we will be aiming for going forward.” The NextGeneration initiative selected Hill to receive the 2020 NextGeneration Innovation Award. This is awarded to a housebuilder that has demonstrated initiatives that go far beyond the criteria used for the benchmark. We have secured this prestigious award in recognition of our inspiring and forward-thinking accommodation scheme for the homeless.
Iona Deacon, programme manager for JLL, the secretariat of NextGeneration commented: “Hill had an impressive debut year as members of the NextGeneration Benchmark, which assesses the sustainability of the largest 25 housebuilders in the UK. After substantially improving their ranking (from 19th in 2016 to 9th this year), Hill is now the most sustainable privately-owned housebuilder in the UK according to the benchmark. In a further testament to Hill’s approach to sustainability, they came out ahead of stiff competition to win the 2020 Innovation Award for their Foundation 200 project. Congratulations!” Creating headline objectives for the business is an important step, and will allow us to set shorter term annual targets, but we have many projects and initiatives that demonstrate that our attention to ESG matters is clearly embedded in the business on a day-to-day basis.
Innovation Our Foundation 200 initiative to help the homeless has provided the base for similar projects throughout the country.
We are delighted Foundation 200, our pledge to gift 200 modular homes to homeless charities and local authorities over the next five years, has been recognised for its ability to change lives by directly addressing the growing crisis of homelessness.
Social We were ranked 9th in our first year as members of NextGeneration which gave Foundation 200 its 2020 Innovation Award.
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Annual Review 2020
6. Environmental, Social and Governance Cont.
Natural Energy At our North West Cambridge development, photovoltaic panels have been hooked up to provide power to the site offices and welfare facilities, reducing our carbon footprint.
Setting The Standard Our homes at Knights Park, Eddington push the boundaries of sustainability in new housing.
Eddington places resident wellbeing, sustainability and ecology at the forefront of the design Knights Park Setting the standard in sustainable living, Eddington places resident wellbeing, sustainability and ecology at the forefront of the design. It uses innovative, seamlessly integrated construction methods with the aim of minimising environmental impact and is based around a neighbourhood system for ‘living lightly’. Our new houses and apartments have sustainability built in, from high performing robust insulation and triple glazing to photovoltaic panels and mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems.
Energy Efficient Heating and hot water for the homes at Eddington come from the neighbourhood’s own highly efficient energy centre.
Caring For Our Planet Some Hill developments include innovative recycling and household waste systems below ground.
The energy centre in Eddington delivers heat and hot water to residents, with major system efficiencies reducing C02 and energy wastage. The developmentwide rainwater harvesting and sustainable urban drainage system is currently the largest in the UK and recycles rainwater through natural drainage features before filtering it and returning it to our new homes for use in washing machines and flushing toilets. An underground refuse system negates the need for wheelie bins and promotes recycling, and the development was designed to cater for pedestrians and cyclists, with interconnecting foot and cycle paths.
Environmental Homes at Knights Park benefit from high performance insulation, triple glazing, PV panels, MVHR and a district heating system that all help to reduce C02 and energy wastage.
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Annual Review 2020
6. Environmental, Social and Governance Cont.
Agar Grove, Camden
Fen Road and Ditton Fields Through our Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP), we have submitted two planning applications to pilot the first Passivhaus council home projects in Cambridge. The planning applications at Fen Road and Ditton Fields will provide 18 low carbon new council homes as part of Cambridge City Council’s programme to provide new homes in the city and its commitments to tackling the climate emergency. Working closely with experienced architects Pollard Thomas Edwards, the pilot Passivhaus homes will have very high standards of environmental sustainability along with very low energy use and heating costs. They will be built using offsite manufactured timber frame systems, with highly insulated walls and roofs and, by using air source heat pumps as an energy source, will avoid fossil fuel gas several years ahead of it becoming obsolete under the 2025 Future Homes Standards.
Ironworks
Agar Grove One of our milestone developments is Agar Grove, one of the largest projects in Camden’s Community Investment Programme. The homes we built at Agar Grove with Camden Council are certified to a gold Passivhaus standard and the overall development is the largest Passivhaus regeneration development in the UK. Agar Grove has won a number of sustainability awards and has been praised by an international panel of architecture, urban design and planning experts for its “radical nature, saving residents money on energy bills and also encouraging them to live sustainably”, and for having community regeneration and social sustainability at the heart of the project.
Social We are proud to be co-sponsors of the Emerging Talent programme to combat the lack of diversity in construction.
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At our Ironworks development on Mill Road in Cambridge, we are working with The Environment Partnership to build a greener and more sustainable future for our residents. In addition to more open space, we have created a water recycling system that collects and filters water from surrounding paved surfaces and roofs to be fed back into the soil. Repurposing the natural rain cycle not only means less energy and less water waste, but it creates a closed-loop ecosystem whereby onsite greenery, plants and trees can thrive.
Sustainability staff survey Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important aspect of how we do business. It is often referenced by our stakeholders, who of course include our staff, as a measure of what running a responsible business means. With this new strategic focus in mind, we took the opportunity to carry out our very first staff survey dedicated solely to sustainability in autumn 2020.
Ironworks, Cambridge
With over 300 responses, this gave us comprehensive insight into the current sentiment and understanding of sustainability amongst our team. Our stakeholders’ responses reflected the importance of our sustainability agenda. This valuable feedback has helped us to think about how the business can drive forward our sustainability performance and demonstrate continuous improvement. The key areas that we will be progressing as a priority are: y General and frequent feedback on our sustainability activities and initiatives around ESG matters y Development of an entry level training module y Creation of job role specific training/guidance to help everyone see and feel that they have a part to play in helping Hill to excel in the field of sustainability. It is clear sustainability is going to be an important thread running through all aspects of how we run our business and how homes and communities are delivered now and into the future. It’s already part of The Hill Way, a sustainable way of doing business.
Brendan Ritchie appointment In July, we appointed Brendan Ritchie to the newly created position of Head of Sustainability. As our first full-time employee dedicated to sustainability, Brendan has developed our strategic approach to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters. Brendan’s arrival, and our development of this formal strategic plan, signals the Board’s commitment to making sustainability an integral part of what we do and how we run our business. Our stakeholders are increasingly adopting ESG principles and Brendan’s ambition is that every member of Team Hill can, and will, play their part in driving our sustainability performance forward across all parts of the business. He says: “Finding new and better ways of delivering our projects is always a key focus and that applies to the environmental and social aspects of sustainability more than practically any other aspect of what we do. Climate change has a pressing timetable and significant changes to Building Regulations are on the horizon. Many clients are already driving new technical standards that require us to come up with innovative technical solutions and higher levels of environmental performance. The social value that we can add, and positive impacts that we can make, for the communities and customers who enjoy our homes and the places we create, is more important than ever.”
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7. Social Value
T H E H I L L WAY
Creating a legacy From our earliest days, Hill has been committed to leaving a positive legacy through the work and actions we undertake in every community. Founded on the provision of affordable housing, Hill has grown and evolved exponentially and is now taking a leading role in creating new places and neighbourhoods. Experience of working on many long-term multi-phased projects has given us a greater understanding of our role in enhancing and helping the existing communities surrounding our developments and sites, both during construction and, more importantly, once we leave.
Growing Communities Hill has been heavily involved with all ages of the community at New Union Wharf.
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7. Social Value Cont.
We embrace our social responsibility and now carefully monitor our impact via four trackable metrics: education to employment, business support and mentoring, community belonging and connectivity and safe and healthy lives.
Social Value: The Hill Way
1 Education to Employment
2 Business Support and Mentoring
1. Education to Employment
2. Business Support and Mentoring
We are committed to engaging, educating and employing the local community through our projects. We showcase the opportunities that residential and regeneration projects provide for pupils in local education, such as the events we run with Cambridge Launchpad, and for adults who are retraining in their careers or returning to the labour market after a period of unemployment. We help drive awareness so that more people consider working in the industry and understand the variety of career opportunities available which may be otherwise ‘hidden’, such as our successful platinum partnership with Women into Construction.
We are passionate about ensuring the benefits of our developments are sustainable and allow communities to grow and develop after the project has finished. This is done through using expertise in our business and supply chain to provide tailored support and mentoring of local businesses, social enterprises, and voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) to help growth in those organisations.
We do this through a variety of initiatives including: y career taster days y work experience placements and traineeships y working with partners to deliver entry level qualifications such as CSCS cards
3 Community Belonging and Connectivity
4 Safe and Healthy Lives
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We have a commitment to ensuring the supply chain we work with are locally sourced and we work with ConstructionLine to identify these at the earliest stages in our projects, recognising that this supports our drive for local labour and wider economic benefits for the communities we are working in.
y increasing diversity through partnerships with third party organisations y providing energy awareness training to local residents. We have a commitment to local labour on all the projects that we work on and recognise the benefits of advertising and recruiting through local partners, including job brokerages and Job Centre Plus. We commit to a number of new roles on the developments we work on, either directly with us or through our supply chain. We advertise all opportunities and ensure we work with these organisations to provide initial skills forecasting to support the training needs of local residents to help them to compete effectively for roles and apprenticeship opportunities. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, we are working with government programmes such as Kickstart and JETs to support the rapid return to work of those who were made redundant because of the pandemic.
3. Community Belonging and Connectivity Many of the communities in which we work have an already strong sense of community. We want to focus on what we can do to support and enhance that sense of belonging. This may be through sports and health initiatives, sponsoring/hosting community events and fun days, or through the provision of homes for local homeless residents. We also aim to support initiatives for people who suffer from health and mental health issues and who may feel disengaged from the community. We also support digital inclusion groups for elderly residents. Ensuring that people feel connected to their communities is important to us.
sustainability charities; sponsoring and supporting the creation of local residents’ media outlets and implementing digital inclusion programmes. We want to be actively involved within the community, whether that is supporting local education by joining school governing boards or becoming members of local charity groups. We believe it is important to be at the heart of the areas where we work.
4. Safe and Healthy Lives There are many ways we help to deliver healthy living for communities. We encourage a wide range of healthy eating initiatives, provide financial and volunteering support for community gardens and allotments, and ensure access to outdoor exercise via footpath and cycle path provision. Healthy environments mean ecological enhancements and biodiversity net gain through landscaping and habitat provision, and air quality improvements are helped by implementation of pedestrian links to public transport and prioritising pedestrians over cars. It is essential that residents feel secure and safe and have pride in their immediate environment. We promote this through increasing support for police safety and anti-social behaviour teams; involvement in ‘liveable streets’ programmes to ensure safe pedestrian routes throughout developments; and formation of ‘clean your street’ initiatives. We have committed to measure ourselves against well-established criteria via an annual prosperity index as well as regular external auditing. Whilst the prosperity of a community is just one measure, it does demonstrate the impact of the work we do and will ensure our developments are a force for positive social change for generations to come.
Here, our action areas include: delivering laptop and data connectivity in the communities where we work, such as our donation to the ‘Laptops for Learners’ campaign at a secondary school near Prospect Ring; promoting local arts projects; supporting local
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7. Social Value Cont. Celebrating Success Dean Miller, Project Manager and apprentice Jordan Pearce after winning his K10 award.
Apprenticeships
Cambridge Launchpad
We are committed to providing apprenticeships, working alongside our supply chain and recruitment agencies to facilitate opportunities for young people to train on our developments. Apprenticeships with Hill are typically a minimum of 26 weeks with apprentices joining supply chain contractors for the period of their training.
In March, we hosted our first Cambridge Launchpad event, run by Form the Future alongside Women into Construction. Held at the Storey’s Field Centre in Eddington, Cambridge, the day provided a great way to introduce Year 8 school students to the construction industry with advice from some of the women at Hill.
Apprenticeships were badly affected by the lengthy periods of national lockdown in 2020. With colleges shut, many apprentices found themselves furloughed by their employment agency. Our ability to adapt and react following the first lockdown meant our apprentices were able to resume their training on our sites by July.
Utilising the excellent UrbanPlan interactive workshop, four teams from Sawston Village College, Linton Village College, Bottisham Village College and a Cambridge homeschooling group competed to transform a site in a hypothetical town into a sustainable and vibrant new place to live.
We have partnered with K10 an apprenticeship training agency (ATA), since 2012, targeting residents local to our developments who are seeking work in the construction industry. The relationship ensures high standards of vetting and due diligence are in place throughout. They hold annual awards to recognise apprentices who have performed to the very highest standards onsite, or at their studies. We were proud of our apprentice, Jordan Pearce for winning Best 2nd Year Trade Apprentice for his work with RB Emerson.
Best 2nd Year Trade Apprentice Jordan Pearce said: “I am really happy to receive this award for Best 2nd Year Apprentice. Since being a part of K10 I have always worked hard and it feels great for this to be recognised."
Working within their teams, each student took on a different role, including heads of environment, planning and design, working on ideas to make the city an engaging place to live.
The students, who comprised a 50-50 female to male split, also visited our sales and marketing suite at Knights Park to meet members of Team Hill and representatives from the University of Cambridge, who spoke about designing the award winning community at Eddington. Introducing the students to women who work in construction and planning helped to deliver the important message that construction is a great industry for both men and women. The groups pitched their ideas to a panel of industry experts, including Hill representatives. The judges were impressed by all the team efforts, and the winning city was designed to be accessible and safe, a mixed community, with a focus on green transport, energy efficient buildings, local food production and a healthy environment for future generations.
Launching Careers Our Cambridge Launchpad event introduced students to construction careers through dynamic challenges.
Dean Miller, Project manager at Hill said: “Both Hill and RB Emerson are delighted that one of our apprentices has received the acknowledgement. Jordan is an enthusiastic and hard working young man and this award is fully deserved."
Employee Volunteering Scheme We have launched a volunteering scheme to empower all our employees to make a difference in people’s lives. Historically, our volunteering efforts have been juggled around our everyday roles, and this new scheme sets out a framework to enable people to volunteer for any cause they feel passionately about. We believe volunteering has the power to improve people’s lives through direct action at community level, and this has always been The Hill Way.
Through the scheme, all staff will be encouraged to contribute to the overarching company target by supporting our clients and directly benefiting the communities in which we work. Hill will target a total of 677 days a year, approximately 5,000 hours, for employee volunteering. The scheme encourages Hill employees to embrace fully paid days in community action, helping the likes of residents' associations, local schools and charities.
Hill is proud to be proactively engaged in social value initiatives which can help increase staff pride in the company and create goodwill within the communities where we build homes and live.
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7. Social Value Cont.
Support For WiC Hill sponsors WiC Project Manager Shelley Lawrence (left) who is paving the way for young women like Naomi Yanwube (centre) and Kisanet Araya (right).
Filming NVQ Course Materials with Churchill A series of films was captured on location at our North Town housing development in Aldershot to update national NVQ course materials in bricklaying. Bricklaying specialist Churchill Contractors worked closely with Aldershot College, together with Hill and housing provider VIVID, to create the films, which will be used in schools and colleges as part of a drive to help raise the standards of vocational training in bricklaying and encourage more young people into the profession.
Women Into Construction Following the success of our partnership with Women into Construction (WiC) we have pledged to continue our platinum membership with the programme for another 18 months. Designed to provide bespoke support to women wishing to work in the construction industry, WiC works with housebuilders and contractors to recruit and train highly motivated candidates, helping to reduce skills gaps and create a more gender-equal work-force.
HBF Housebuilder Awards 2020 Best training or recruitment initiative Over the last 18 months the workplace initiative, which operates within our Cambridgeshire region, has helped 75 women receive career advice and guidance, with 41 registering directly onto the programme. Of those, 27 have undergone a full programme of on-the-job training, with nine then undertaking work placements or remote mentoring. Eleven women have moved into employment, apprenticeships or other education since completing the programme.
We have also worked with Women into Construction to deliver mandatory Group-wide diversity and inclusion training for our 650+ employees.
Shelley said: “I am delighted to be working with Hill for an extended 18 months to continue delivering the programme in Cambridgeshire. Hill’s continued sponsorship shows a positive commitment for change that not only supports their gender diversity aspirations, but supports the creation of a diverse talent pipeline for their supply chain and the wider local industry. “With over 70 women engaged with one-to-one advice in the region so far, we look forward to continuing this bespoke support in Cambridgeshire to encourage more women into construction.”
“We are pleased to be working with our partners on an initiative that will proactively help raise standards of training in bricklaying. We are pleased that North Town will be featured as an example of best practice for the bricklaying trade as we take enormous pride in always maintaining the highest standards of presentation and craftsmanship onsite.” said Steve Griffiths, Hill’s Project Manager for North Town.
Laptop Donation at Archer Academy, East Finchley We donated to the Laptops for Learners campaign at Archer Academy, a secondary school close to our Prospect Ring development in London. The campaign was set up to give more students access to online learning at home during the pandemic, and we are delighted with the positive feedback from pupils. Year 8 and 9 Pupils commented: “It’s been really hard to complete work on my phone. Having a laptop is going to make completing work so much easier. “I am so pleased to have a laptop. Now I don’t have to share with my parents and three siblings I am going to be able to get much more work done.”
Laying Foundations Bricklayers at our development in Aldershot have been involved in training videos for apprentice bricklayers.
Social Eleven women who had previously not worked in the industry have now found work via our partnership with Women into Construction.
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7. Social Value Cont. Getting Acquainted Site visits are a regular way in which we work with schools close to our sites to strengthen community links and support the curriculum.
Bullwood Gardens, Sweyne Park Sweyne Park School is a thriving school in Essex, accommodating many young people who are moving to new homes in the area, some of which are at Bullwood Gardens, a development Hill is constructing for our client Sanctuary Housing. The local school, built in 1957, was in need of significant improvement. As a partnership, we were able to provide resources to update the learning areas. One classroom had poor acoustics and was not suitable for young people with impaired hearing, so we fitted acoustic roofing tiles and decorated it in the school’s blue and yellow colours. The bright furnishings, walls and modern learning technologies transformed the room into a fabulous environment for learning, accommodating over 200 students in any given day. On the back of our relationship with the school, two of the school’s students are now forging careers through our management trainee programme. Aaron Unsworth was appointed as a trainee contract surveyor and Tom Matthews as a trainee
technical coordinator. They started their modern apprenticeships in September 2020. They will undertake degree level qualifications while benefiting from on the job training and work experience. Aaron and Tom agreed the works Hill carried out in the schools made the classroom environment brighter and more conducive to learning, especially for hearing impaired students. Both are also relishing the opportunity to start building their careers with Hill.
Aaron said: “Getting involved with all different aspects of being a contract surveyor is really interesting and I’m learning a lot every day. I would say my favourite part of the job is being able to walk around the construction sites seeing the design drawings come to life as they come out of the ground.”
Regeneration Week 2020 In early March, school children from Merton Abbey Primary School took part in Regeneration Week hosted by Clarion Housing Group.
Tom said: “All the staff have made me feel very welcome. I am very happy and thankful to be able to be here for the foreseeable future."
Merton Abbey Primary School is next to our High Path development and this is the fifth year that Clarion has hosted a series of creative and educational workshops to give the pupils an insight into the changing face of High Path.
School Attendance Initiative Hill and Greenfields Community Housing attended an assembly at St Francis Catholic Primary School at the end of January and gave out Hill teddies to 104 children who achieved 100% attendance during the first half term of the year.
Michael Bradley, Head Teacher at Merton Abbey Primary School said: “Thanks for a brilliant Regeneration Week. The assembly caused real excitement and the activities were very well received.”
Five of the children also received a gift voucher and the winning class were going to spend their prize money during a school trip. All seven classes visited Spalding Close and were able to meet the project team to understand more about the construction industry.
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7. Social Value Cont. Seasonal Elves
Charity Fundraising In October, Team Hill took part in Wear it Pink Day in aid of Breast Cancer Now. In the office, working from home and onsite, employees were encouraged to dress in pink clothing. We raised over £250 for the charity on the day.
Pretty In Pink Site teams joined office based staff in wearing pink for the day to raise money for Breast Cancer Now.
In December, Team Hill unleashed their inner elf to help raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. Colleagues from across the business dressed up in a range of brightly coloured elf outfits and festive attire to help fund research and create lasting change for people affected by dementia. Also in December, Pride of Britain nominee and Guinness World Record Holder, Ben Blowes, ran a marathon every day in support of Tom’s Trust and
we sponsored Ben to run on Christmas Day. On 29th December disaster struck when Ben was injured during his run. His partner completed the marathon for him but, incredibly, on 30 December, Ben completed a marathon on crutches taking around eleven hours and, even more incredibly, managed to run the 31st and final marathon the following day. We are proud to have sponsored Ben in his challenge to raise money for Tom’s Trust, a charity for children with brain tumours and their families. Ben ran past our development Marleigh, a vibrant new community of homes in Cambridge, and we were there to capture the moment.
Pink For A Day Site Manager Simon Redgrave and some of his team at Akeman Street Cambridge.
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Staff embraced the festive season in a variety of elf costumes to support the Alzheimer’s Society.
Marathon Man Hill sponsored one of the 31 marathons undertaken by Ben Blowes, pictured running past our Marleigh development, one for each day in December.
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8. Evolving Brand Hill
Defining our brand
A company’s website is the single most important brand touchpoint and a crucial platform for communicating and interacting with buyers and stakeholders.
We have evolved our brand to better reflect our business and help us to focus on key areas. These changes will help make communication with our clients, partners and customers even clearer. Our brand now comprises our corporate master brand (for all group and corporate communications); our residential business brand (for our customers); and our partnerships brand (for our housing association and local authority clients and partners). A fourth brand, SoloHaus, aimed at solutions for tackling homelessness, was also added this year. The Hill logo has been fine-tuned: the famous Hill pictorial mark is now reduced in weight and scale to line up horizontally against the word Hill. This gives the logo a more structured feel, reasserting the family name as the defining and, indeed, differentiating element of the company’s hallmark. Our colours have been refreshed to distinguish more clearly between our different areas of business. The corporate brand features a new copper colour, to represent the quality and stability that we stand for and feel so passionate about. Blue is used when we are selling our homes – a bright and inviting colour that reflects the uplifting lifestyles our developments offer. The well-known orange is the brand colour for our partnerships business – our joint ventures and contracting projects – which reflects our long history of successful partnerships. All three logos are set against a stylish, understated navy base colour, which threads consistency throughout the brand.
Hill Group Brand The impressive copper colour represents the quality and stability for which Hill has become renowned.
Hill Residential Brand The inviting and engaging blue represents the lifestyle Hill developments offer, with a strapline reflecting our innovative approach.
Hill Partners Brand The familiar orange reflects our long history of successful partnerships, with a strapline that shows our commitment to communities.
SoloHaus Brand The distinctive yellow is designed to stand out from the crowd and reflect the positive contribution to this worthy cause.
Hill’s website is being completely rebuilt from the ground up to better express the new brand aesthetics and values, increase interest in our residential sales, and smooth the user experience for our partners, clients and supply chain. It will also offer exciting virtual tour technology for buyers who cannot physically visit a site, webinars, and site and plot fly-throughs.
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Motion, Lea Bridge
9. Customer, Quality, Design and Awards WhatHouse judges comment: “Hill continues to build, to partner and to impress with panache and passion across myriad locations and house types. Its commitment to product and people is unswerving and laser-focused, eye never off the ball, learning from the past, building in the present, planning for the future – a sustainable future, where building change must lead the way in combating climate change."
T H E H I L L WAY
Quality at our core Our commitment to our customers will always be to provide a distinctive, fully equipped home that is ready to move into and fit for purpose for today’s modern consumer. Unlike many other housebuilders, we choose not to build identikit properties, instead delivering individually designed homes with no compromise on design and quality that will serve their residents for the long term. From early planning designs to the build stage, and from the sales process right through to the after sales care, quality remains at the heart of all we do. This commitment has been recognised by our Home Builders Federation 5* customer satisfaction status for the last four consecutive years.
Note to staff from Andy Hill on Housebuilder of the Year win: “The WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year Award is the most important, most coveted award in the industry and is an incredible accolade for Team Hill. Winning Housebuilder of the Year requires every single employee, across all departments, to pull together in a real, co-ordinated team effort. They all worked tirelessly, despite the many unexpected challenges we faced, to make this highest of honours a reality.”
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Chatsworth Place A bespoke collection of 16 new homes located in the prestigious village of Impington, Cambridge.
Award Winning Last year more than ever highlighted the need to provide outstanding communications with our customers, combined with outstanding service levels, quality and design. Winning WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year 2020 was testament to the dedication of Team Hill. In addition to quality, design and portfolio, we were judged on all aspects of a housebuilder’s operation, including the influence of senior management, staff values, sustainability, customer care and much more. This award is down to the hard work and dedication of all Hill staff, and our aim is to continue delivering homes to a high standard, fit for purpose for today’s customer and future generations. We retained our 5* rating in the Home Builders Federation customer satisfaction survey for the fourth year in a row. Over nine out of ten of our customers would recommend us to a friend, reaffirming our commitment to delivering excellent customer service and quality design.
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9. Customer, Quality, Design and Awards Cont. Welcome Back We were delighted to welcome customers back to our marketing suites last summer.
Mosaics, Oxford Winner of WhatHouse? 2020 Best Development.
Our Customers Achieving this success has been challenging throughout a year of adversity, but we were determined to ensure our customers could continue with their home-buying journeys. Marketing our homes during a period of lockdown presented many challenges, the most difficult of which was the significant drop in physical footfall to sales suites. To tackle this we implemented a range of online solutions for buyers whose purchasing efforts were being frustrated by the limitations lockdown presented.
Awards In addition to winning Housebuilder of the Year, we were also honoured to have experienced our most successful awards season yet including: y WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year 2020 y WhatHouse? Best Medium Housebuilder (Gold) – Hill Group y WhatHouse? Best Development (Gold) – Mosaics y WhatHouse? Best Partnership (Silver) – Motion with Peabody y WhatHouse? Best Regeneration (Silver) – Fish Island Village y Evening Standard Grand Prix Award – Fish Island Village
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y Evening Standard Best Large Development (Winner) – Fish Island Village y Evening Standard Home or Development of Outstanding Architectural Merit (Winner) – Athena y Evening Standard Best Regeneration (Highly Commended) – Fish Island Village y Housebuilder Medium Housebuilder of the Year (Winner) – Hill Group y Housebuilder Best Training or Recruitment Initiative (Winner) – Women into Construction Partnership y Housebuilder Best Design four storeys or more (Highly Commended) – Motion
After only a matter of weeks, our sales and marketing departments were able to offer buyers the ability to view, tour, reserve and pay for their dream home, all online from the comfort of their sofa. We teamed up with online technology company, Reevo 360, to provide our customers with personalised, one-to-one virtual tours of our show apartments and show houses, hosted by members of our experienced sales teams. Across the business we rolled out YourKeys, a digital platform to facilitate online property transactions and a faster progression of sales through a contact-free process. It is integrated directly into conveyancers and mortgage brokers with real-time sales progression updates being integrated into the YourKeys platform. It allows buyer checks, ID verification, automated document generation and reservation fees to be processed online.
In May, when it was safe to do so, we opened our sales and marketing suites again. To prioritise the wellbeing of customers, employees, subcontractors and local communities, we enforced stringent health and safety protocols across the business. This included enhanced training for staff, marker guides for social distancing, rigorous cleaning regimes and an internal video for all staff detailing how to conduct viewings whilst adhering to government guidelines. We also created a customer friendly video to show how our health and safety protocols affected appointments at our sales suites. We began our own webinar series, hosting a series of informative webinars on topics such as Help to Buy, Stamp Duty changes and finance to ensure our customers are at the forefront of industry insights and privy to the information they needed to understand the complexities of buying a new home.
Safe Viewings As soon as we were able we put in place Covid-19 safe procedures and practices to enable viewings to resume.
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9. Customer, Quality, Design and Awards Cont.
Josie, Marleigh resident Josie Afolabi was on the hunt for her perfect home in Cambridge. She purchased a two bedroom coach house at our Marleigh development after viewing the plot via a virtual tour: “As I had already viewed other Hill homes, I knew that the quality would be up to my high standards, and the virtual tour showed me everything I needed to make my decision, even down to the more granular details such as fixtures, flooring and carpets.
Matthew Baxter, Fish Island Village resident As the average age of a first time buyer has slowly crept up year by year, many homebuyers in London can’t afford to buy their first home until the age of 34. London renter Matthew Baxter defied this statistic to buy his first home at Hill’s award-winning Fish Island Village development at the age of just 28 with the support of the London Help to Buy scheme. The development ticked many boxes for Matthew thanks to its superb location, vibrant community and excellent onsite facilities.
Slava Campbell, Keepers Green resident “We had rented a car for the day and drove from London to view quite a few properties in various areas along the southern coast, including Chichester and Poole. We actually went to view a different Hill property, but another plot unexpectedly came available that morning, so we took a look around that and instantly fell in love. We then cancelled our other viewings, sorted our financial paperwork and drove back down the next day to reserve our new home!”
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He explains: “I had been renting in Balham for five years and although I enjoyed living with other people, being in a flatshare meant I never really had a space of my own which made it difficult to feel settled. I love the city and knew that it was time to set down some roots here, but wasn’t quite sure how, or even if, I could afford a home in London. I had been looking across a few different locations, from Peckham to Greenwich, and nothing really stood out, then I found Fish Island Village and I knew I needed to book in a viewing.”
“I loved the idea of Marleigh being built around community spirit and a place where neighbours can truly get to know one another, which is particularly important to me as I am purchasing my property alone. This, coupled with the charm of Cambridge, completely won me over. “My friends had a big impact on my decision, with a number of them having visited Hill properties before and recommending them to me. I could see that many of my friends in London wished they were surrounded by more greenery and wanted their own private outdoor space since we’re all spending much more time at home, so for those reasons I chose to settle in Cambridge."
Matthew wanted a home with minimal upkeep that he could move straight into: “I was extremely impressed by the Fish Island Village development, from the range of facilities and selection of properties on offer right down to the staff. Everything about Fish Island Village met my requirements, along with the availability of the London Help to Buy scheme - it was a no-brainer to purchase my first ever home here,” he said.
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At the forefront of affordable housing delivery, we delivered the very first £100K homes for the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
9. Customer, Quality, Design and Awards Cont.
Daniel and Yric, Harrow One residents “Yric and I have been renting together for 16 months in Harrow, and neither of us were in a particular rush to buy as we loved the area and convenience of living so close to work. In fact, our plans were to buy our own homes separately next year, but that changed in July when the stamp duty holiday was announced. I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy my first home and save some money while doing so, but I didn’t want to do it alone. “We’d had our eyes on Harrow One, which we’d been watching transform from a pile of bricks into two beautiful apartment blocks. On visiting, we were both immediately taken with the look and feel of the scheme – and the fact that we would have our own private balcony.”
£100k Homes November saw us complete construction of the first ever £100k homes at our Fordham development, Rayners Green. The £100k Homes Scheme is an initiative from Mayor James Palmer of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), offering one bedroom homes to buy for £100,000 and providing an affordable step on the property ladder for those who already live and work in the area. The CPCA invited applications on the properties in mid-September and received 147 eligible applications out of a total 228 applications for the £100K Homes scheme. The homes could have been filled nearly 20 times over. £100K homes are allocated on a points system designed to give a fair representation of an applicant’s connection to the area. Those with the strongest local connection to Fordham, either by living or working there or having strong family connections, will be the first to be offered the opportunity to purchase one of the homes. Market rate valuations on the eight £100K Homes have revealed they were offered to buyers at a discount rate of 35%. The ground floor flats were valued at £150K and the first floor flats at £155K, but they will be sold to the prospective first buyers
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Well Deserved Dom Jankowski, one of our most experienced site directors, won silver in the residential under 10 storeys category at the CIOB’s Construction Manager of the Year Awards.
at £100,000. This means that all subsequent buyers will purchase the homes at a discount of over a third of the market value when the original owners choose to sell. Rather than their monthly payment disappearing into the bank account of their landlord, those who buy a £100K home own it outright and build their equity as they repay their mortgage. As the monthly mortgage payment is expected to be lower than the equivalent private rent amount, £100K homeowners also have the chance to save more each month; savings that can go towards the deposit on their next homes, on the open market. Fish Island Village Hill is now working on the final phase of the highly successful and popular Fish Island Village project in East London.
Award Winning Site Teams The Construction Manager of the Year Awards (CMYA), run by the CIOB every year since 1978, celebrates extraordinary individuals who go above and beyond to deliver buildings that make a positive impact on the lives of the people who use them. Our Fish Island Village Project Director, Dom Jankowski, won silver at the November 2020 online awards. Dom is one of our most dedicated site managers with many years of experience, who became one of our first members of staff to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. We congratulate Dom on his award. Four members of Team Hill have also been awarded with NHBC Pride in The Job Quality Awards: y Stuart Jones, Project Manager at Ironworks, Cambridge NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Award y Stephen Pinner, Project Manager at Remix Helix, Stonebridge y Paul Morgan, Project Manager at Newington Gate, Hackney y Darren Russell, Project Manager at Trinity House, Cambridge.
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9. Customer, Quality, Design and Awards Cont.
Hill became a part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Golden Thread Initiative (GTI).
Quality It is fundamental to us as a business to ensure we live up to our promise to our customers to deliver high quality homes. We are committed to year-on-year continuous improvement, with the customers’ needs and safety at the forefront of our minds at all times throughout the planning and build process. As the standards expected by our customers, legislation and the industry as a whole continue to rise, we made a strategic appointment with our new Head of Quality, Andy Mullins. With over 40 years of experience in housebuilding and construction, Andy will play a pivotal role in maintaining best practice across the Group, focusing on the entire build and sales process, from commercial through to customer services. Against the backdrop of a changing regulatory environment, Andy is responsible for embedding Group-wide processes and ensuring a consistent approach to procedures and build quality across the 6,000 homes currently under construction and 9,000 homes in the pipeline.
Our involvement in the initiative is being led by Andy Mullins and, by signing up, we are confirming our commitment to driving cultural change in building safety. In 2020, Hill became a part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Golden Thread Initiative (GTI). This new programme aims to create a standardised digital golden thread of building safety information for the construction industry following legislative changes. The quality and safety of the homes we produce is the utmost priority for our business, and we have taken many measures to comply with regulations, and exceed what is expected of us.
Also critical to the golden thread is building information modelling (BIM), a digital model that everyone involved in a project can work on, from the architect to the client. Tom Cannon, our Group BIM Manager and an active member of BIM4Housing and the BIM4Housing Associations working groups, is leading our contribution to the programme.
Hill is a registered signatory for the Building a Safer Future Charter. The charter has been created to promote an urgent and positive culture and behaviour change in the safety of the built environment. It is about putting people’s safety first in how we plan for, design, build, maintain, and look after the safety of the buildings in which we live, work or play. The charter was originally conceived and created by a group of early adopters comprising local authorities, contractors, housing associations and property developers, with the support of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). And in early 2020, the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) was appointed to develop and manage the charter.
Quality Matters Former NHBC Head of Inspection, Andy Mullins joins Hill as Head of Quality to ensure best practice building standards across the Group.
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of knowledge base documents on the company intranet. SnagR has helped us improve the FICC (Final Inspection and Commissioning Checklist) and RTMI (Ready To Move In) processes by embedding them into the system, ensuring all quality information is uploaded to one place.
Building Information Modelling The adoption of BIM technology enables us to drive efficiencies and quality over the building's life cycle.
We implemented many changes to the reporting of our work to adhere to the guideline laid out by the Golden Thread Initiative. We developed a Construction Control Plan to change our control process and standardise construction details. To make the process more agile, we rolled out SnagR, a digital inspection and recording system replacing the former paper QA system. All site staff have been trained and quality checklists have been reviewed to ensure we are recording details to the required level of accuracy. We introduced technical guidance as well as a store
He says: “We are delighted to be a part of this initiative, both to give our thoughts on legislative changes and to gather others. This allows us not only to advise in such areas, but to continue developing our own knowledge and procedures in this field. “It is paramount that we are aligned with all legislative changes, and all disciplines within the housing industry should be actively implementing their approach to being able to deliver the golden thread of information on their projects. We look forward to contributing to this programme and being a part of the wider Golden Thread Initiative Group.” We continued to prioritise and work closely with our partners to acquire EWS1 forms for sites where updates are necessary. We have an internal working group to continuously review all affected legacy
Contemporary Design Interior designer experts create bespoke layouts at Mosaics, winner of WhatHouse? Best Development award in 2020.
buildings, working with building owners, management companies and expert advisors to ensure the safety of residents. This is a complex issue and we are dedicated to reaching an acceptable solution in conjunction with our partners. As well as our own inspections, we commission an independent company, CSI-QA, to conduct, as a minimum, two monthly quality inspections at all our sites, with audits integrating with snagR. Health and safety onsite continues to remain a top priority, with inspection results based on a rigorous scoring matrix which is reviewed monthly by the senior board to maintain safety standards. We completed a successful ISO 9001 audit executed by the Lloyds Register. The audit covered all four ISO standards containing HSE elements. Lloyds Register commented: “The organisation (Hill Group) demonstrated the performance measures related to Quality Assurance, Environmental and H&S management are well established, well monitored and well evaluated. The organisation was seen to continue to be focused on continual improvement of its processes and performance.”
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Motion, Lea Bridge
10. Portfolio
Designed for the long term Our portfolio of new homes has increased both in terms of volume, size and complexity. Our approach to new homes is with a focus on the people who will be living in them and how we can best meet their needs, and those of their communities, for the long term. Whether a development consists of family homes in a village setting or high rise apartments in an inner city, our approach is the same – to create high quality, sustainable buildings that stand the test of time and delight their residents.
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10. Portfolio Cont.
Knights Park, Cambridge
All the homes have been thoughtfully crafted to minimise residents’ carbon footprint and have been built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 and Lifetime Homes Standard
Environment Knights Park is developed to Sustainable Homes Code 5.
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10. Portfolio Cont.
Key
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St James Quay, Norwich
Phase one of this riverside development is a mix of one and two bedroom apartments and two and three bedroom penthouses. 2
Keepers Green, Chichester
Keepers Green is a new mixed community with a variety of homes ranging from one bedroom apartments to four bedroom houses. 3
Fish Island Village, Hackney Wick
The 600 new homes at Fish Island Village in Hackney Wick are part of a new and vibrant canalside community which includes creative studio spaces. 4
Harrow One, Harrow
Harrow One’s modern studio, one and two bedroom apartments enjoy a central location in Harrow close to the railway station, which has made it popular with buyers. 5
Mosaics, Oxford
Mosaics is our gateway development in Oxford which blends contemporary quality new homes with a countryside setting. 6
The Hawthorns, Cambridge
These 95 new homes offer a mix of one and two bedroom apartments and two, three and four bedroom houses, located in the beautiful village of Sawston, Cambridge. 7
Rayners Green, Fordham
Set in the sought after village of Fordham, Cambridgeshire these private sale homes provide a mix of 68 beautifully designed new two, three and four bedroom properties. 8
The Gade, Hemel Hempstead
The Gade is a collection of highly specified one and two bedroom apartments close to the centre of Hemel Hempstead. 9
Athena, Cambridge
Athena is our first development of private homes in the new neighbourhood of Eddington in North Cambridge, which is setting a precedent for sustainable living.
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Team Hill raised £8,000 for NHS Charities Together during the first national lockdown.
11. Team Hill
T H E H I L L WAY
Team Hill – pulling together We know, and will always recognise, that our successes would not be possible without our talented pool of staff. Our greatest asset is our people and we are proud of the team we have developed and which we continue to grow. 2020 saw a record intake of new employees across various parts of the business, and we look forward to continuing to expand and grow the Hill family. We have always been immensely proud of our workforce, who carry the Team Hill badge with pride. The last year has challenged each and every one of us to dig deep and to go beyond
the day job. There have been so many Hill heroes who have enabled us to keep working under such difficult circumstances and we are so proud of Team Hill and the part everyone has played. Similarly, we are grateful for the support and understanding of all the households who have had to adapt to our staff working from home. We recognise the dedication, hard work and commitment which has enabled continuity across the business and ensured all our offices and sites were a safe place to come to work. Here are just a few examples of the inspiring contributions that helped us.
Inspiring People and Teams While the country was embracing a national campaign to clap for carers, a group of our employees saw an opportunity to help raise funds for NHS Charities Together by running 5km, donating £5 and nominating five employees. Bathed in weeks of endless sunshine, hundreds of members of Team Hill pulled on their running trainers, hiking shoes or Bib shorts to do their bit while utilising their government rationed one hour of exercise a day. Hill staff, led by Calum Kidd, Deputy Regional Manager of Special Projects, managed to raise over £8,000 after our Chief Executive Andy Hill generously agreed to double the total we were able to raise.
Run 5K, Donate £5 Some of the many staff who turned their lockdown exercise regimes into cash for NHS charities.
Throughout the year, our Group Head of HSE, Paul Dyster worked industriously to spearhead our efforts across all our offices and sites to ensure the company could carry on operating safely, when permitted, during the pandemic. Paul was awarded with a special staff award at our biannual staff meeting. Our Head of HR Clare Smithson guided and implemented a number of new staff processes to ensure Team Hill remained as one and kept all staff communicated with important updates and new ways of working. She advised the board on the approach we should take and supported staff members more than ever. Our fabulous team of cleaners kept our offices squeaky clean and safe throughout the year, allowing the company to continue delivering much needed homes for the country, while our office managers worked tirelessly to ensure our offices were safe to return to following the first lockdown and throughout the pandemic.
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11. Team Hill Cont.
Working Together – Remotely Barring a period of only six weeks at the height of the first lockdown, our terrific construction teams did not stop, handing over 49 properties in the period. They carried on going every day to deliver on promises to our partners, clients and customers, ensuring completions, handovers and house moves continued through the height of lockdown. Communications had a key role during the last year and it was important to maintain a flow of the latest information to all at Hill, keeping people informed and engaged throughout. We issued our lockdown newsletter, InsideHill, weekly from 1st April 2020 to 22nd July 2020 to provide ongoing, lighthearted internal communications to keep morale high. We issued 18 in total and due to popular demand they continue in a monthly format.
Despite all the challenges of 2020, and with the support of many people, we were able to maintain our biannual staff meetings. The first of the year included a pre-recorded video message from Chief Executive Andy Hill, presented as a webcast. The second, which encompassed presentations from Andy and his team of directors, became Hill’s first ever virtual staff meeting. The online event was attended by 100% of employees and was a resounding success. As the challenges of the first lockdown set in, our employees spent time configuring their new home office spaces, aiming to create the ideal setting for effective working from home. Members of Team Hill submitted photos of their new workstations and the best efforts were celebrated in the weekly newsletter.
Our dedicated Covid-19 committee met twice a week at the height of the lockdown, often late into the evening in response to Government briefings, adapting the business strategy and discussing crisis and contingency planning. The team ultimately guided us through one of the most challenging years in our twenty year history. Our frontline sales team remained our public touchpoint and swiftly adapted to the new and changing Covid-19 regulations. Remaining professional throughout, they carried on selling homes, exceeding all expectations for sales in such a difficult year. Our marketing team was quick to respond to changing demands, delivering the technological updates required to allow sales to continue. There is a special mention for the IT department, who, without any notice, was able to implement the roll-out of systems and technology for remote working, allowing the entire company to work from home, almost overnight. The management of additional equipment and IT support was invaluable to those grappling with new software and fluctuating levels of home connectivity.
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Employee Milestones Two of our team members were promoted to Deputy Regional Director roles. In Major Projects, we were pleased to promote Calum Kidd from Project Director to Deputy Regional Director. Calum will assist David Eardley, Regional Managing Director, with the substantial growth within the development pipeline. We also celebrated the promotion of Harvinder (Harvey) Dhami to Deputy Regional Director for the Southern Region. Harvey began his career at Hill in 2007, when he joined the management trainee programme as a trainee technical coordinator. He progressed from being one of our management trainees through multiple roles, including project manager at some of our flagship schemes, before his welldeserved promotion. “I have worked with some amazing people and have a great relationship with them both in and out of work. We work hard and have a lot of fun doing what we do" said Harvey.
Home Comforts
We are delighted that through our management trainee programme, we are able to develop top tier talent within the construction industry, allowing individuals like Harvey to achieve successful careers as part of #TeamHill.
Employees got inventive to make their new home working environments as comfortable as possible.
Major Promotions
Stepping Up Harvey Dhami, one of our first management trainees, was promoted to Deputy Regional Director for the Southern Region.
Sachin Gor, Trainee Technical Coordinator in our Special Projects Region, won an Excellence Award from the University of Westminster Business School in recognition of his achievements. Only 84 of the 5,000 students at the university received one of these top awards and Sachin was the highest performing student studying Construction Management at Level 4.
Calum Kidd was promoted to Deputy Regional Director for Special Projects.
High Flyer Sachin Gor was the highest achieving student on his university course.
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11. Team Hill Cont. Mental Wellbeing Top Of The Class Our highest achieving management trainees celebrated their success with CEO Andy Hill and Talent Development Manager Simon Hawkins.
Management Trainee Programme We celebrated the very best of our young up and coming talent at our annual Management Trainee Awards event, which was held virtually this year due to the ongoing pandemic. The annual ceremony recognises four outstanding individuals, from a pool of over 100 across the company’s management trainee programme. The programme is designed to provide an alternative graduate route from school into the construction industry. We employ our trainees on a competitive salary, whilst also funding their BSc (Hons) degree over a five year period, leading them into a valuable career with no student loan or debt. From a pool of over 100 trainees, Assistant Contract Surveyor, Maisie Webb, who is in her fourth year, was the overall winner and awarded the Trainee of the Year title for her outstanding contribution. Maisie commented: “Winning this award means so much to me – it has been a year of hard work and perseverance but it has paid off and I couldn’t be happier. I’m now working across three complex sites and gaining new skills and confidence every day. The programme has really opened my eyes to the number of amazing career opportunities for young people in this industry and I couldn’t recommend it more.”
We have introduced mental health first aiders into our business to promote a positive working environment onsite and in our offices.
Mental Health Aware Four category winners were: Trainee Contract Surveyor of the Year, Maisie Webb; Trainee Site Manager of the Year, George Smith; Trainee Technical Coordinator of the Year, Harry Wright; and First Year Trainee of the Year, Cameron Prentice. Andy Hill, CEO of the Hill Group, presented the winners with their trophies and commented: “The majority of the top achievers in our business are former management trainees, which is testament to the success of the programme in helping trainees to realise their potential.” This year Hill welcomed 27 trainees into the business, bringing the total number to 118. All trainees work alongside skilled employees to receive hands-on training as they rotate through a variety of disciplines in their first year, ensuring the core elements of the development and build processes are experienced. Well done to all our graduates who completed their Bachelor of Science Degrees in 2020.
Hill actively supports the HBF’s Mental Health Awareness Campaign, which was launched in 2019, and we have adopted the Building Mental Health Framework. One of the key framework steps is to introduce mental health first aiders into our business to promote a positive working environment. We achieved this in 2020. We have been working with the Lighthouse Club, the charity dedicated to the welfare and wellbeing of construction workforces, to deliver an internationally recognised two day pilot course designed to teach people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and feel confident in guiding people towards support. Before the first lockdown, our mental health first aiders undertook the training and learned how to support fellow employees, raise awareness of mental health and encourage people to talk – something that has
become even more important as we work through the continued lockdowns. Our Group Head of HR, Clare Smithson, said: “We want to make it very clear that there are people around who can help, can support and are able to listen to anybody that wants to come forward.”
Diversity and Inclusion In 2020, we worked with our partner, Women into Construction, to design and deliver an interactive training programme on diversity and inclusion in the workplace which was rolled out across the business throughout the year. The three hour training sessions, delivered remotely, were run by Yvonne Howard from Women into Construction, with mixed working groups of up to 20 Hill employees in each session.
2020 Staff Survey Results
91.4 %
86.9 %
87.3 %
85.6 %
staff responded to 2020 staff survey
feel confident about the future at Hill
staff would recommend a vacancy at Hill to a friend or relative
Employee Engagement Index (EEI)
Class Of 2020 The pandemic didn’t affect recruitment to our management trainee programme, although the 2020 intake had to observe social distancing rules when they met for the first time.
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11. Team Hill Cont.
We have sponsored many sports clubs over the year, including:
Cambridge Rugby Club / Chesterton Bowls Club / Faversham Ladies Hockey Club / Cambridge United FC / Hanborough FC / Hills Road Sixth Form College Rugby Team / Histon Football Club / Ifield Cricket Club / Jonathan Lisseter Racing / Cambridge University Rugby Club / Kidlington Youth FC / Linton Granta FC / Papworth FC / Shelford Rugby Club.
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12. Joint Ventures
Building relationships T H E H I L L WAY
Marleigh is our exciting new neighbourhood in North East Cambridge, delivered in joint venture partnership with Marshall Group
Central to The Hill Way is the formation and maintenance of long lasting partnerships. Trust is hard won but it is the DNA of our on-going success. Many clients have moved roles and Hill has moved with them. Unlike most major housebuilders, our flexibility of structure and project leadership is our strength and a constant factor in our ability to maintain long lasting business relationships with both public and private sector clients. We possess a deep level of expertise and skill in delivering projects across a wide range of sizes and scales, from landowners keen to utilise underused sites, housing associations tasked to deliver largescale, high quality regenerations, or businesses looking to start and invest in something new. We aim to be the partner of choice to deliver distinctive, quality homes and communities.
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12. Joint Ventures Cont. Hotel To Homes Harrow One, built on the site of a former hotel, has been a major success with home buyers.
In June we successfully launched Harrow One, a £70m joint venture project with Origin Housing transforming the former Cumberland Hotel in Harrow, London to a mixed-tenure development of over 200 apartments. Harrow One is part of Harrow Council’s £1.7bn ‘Heart of Harrow’ regeneration drive and is providing much needed housing to the area. The scheme has been a major success, with over 95% of the private sale homes now sold.
The final chapter of an exciting story at Fish Island Village
Our first residents moved into Rayners Green, a unique joint venture partnership with family-owned Scotsdales, a chain of garden centres based around Cambridgeshire. Named after Scotsdales founder, David Rayner, the scheme is located on land adjacent to the garden centre in the village of Fordham. Phase one of this development is due to complete in 2021.
In the last year we have begun construction of the final phase of units at our popular and award winning Fish Island Village development in Hackney Wick. Delivered in partnership with Peabody, we have now entered the final chapter of an exciting story that has been ongoing since 2017 when we started onsite. The scheme has been a resounding success and was awarded London’s Best Large Development at the Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2020, as well as picking up the overall Grand Prix Award. The project is due to be completed in early 2022. A Unique Joint Venture
Environmental We formed a joint venture with Bioregional Homes to build zero carbon homes for private sale.
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Rayners Green a joint venture between Hill and Scotsdales Garden Centre, in the village of Fordham.
We announced that we will be delivering the second phase of Marleigh, alongside our joint venture partners Marshall Group Properties. Marleigh is a new neighbourhood to the North East of
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12. Joint Venture Cont.
Jolles House The transformation of the Jolles House site includes a landscape courtyard and children’s play area.
Cambridge that will comprise around 1,550 homes once complete, with a GDP of £700m. This marks the continuation of our partnership, Hill Marshall LLP, which is currently delivering 547 new homes in phase one. This exciting development is placemaking at its finest, with a new two form primary school, wealth of community facilities, market square and community centre to be delivered on completion.
New Partnerships A pivotal achievement for us was to be appointed by Poplar HARCA Housing Association as joint venture partner to deliver the Teviot Estate regeneration in Tower Hamlets. The project, for more than 1,750 new homes, will have new green and play spaces, shops, community and faith facilities, and improved infrastructure. In 2019, 86% of residents backed proposals for regenerating the estate in a ballot. Since then, a steering group of residents and an independent advisor have led the procurement process to select a preferred developer. Hill was selected from five initial bidders and is now working alongside Poplar HARCA in consultation with the residents steering group. We will appoint a master planner with residents and continue consultation with residents, London Borough of Tower Hamlets and other stakeholders to develop the designs. An application to the local planning authority is expected to be finalised in mid-late 2022.
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Continuing our work and partnerships in London, we agreed contracts with Home Group to deliver the regeneration of the Douglas Bader Park estate in Collindale. The new partnership, Home Hill LLP, will transform the outdated 1970s estate to create over 750 new homes while ensuring all existing residents can benefit from new, high quality homes. The needs and aspirations of current and future residents remain central to our approach, boosted by our extensive experience in delivering successful resident-led regeneration.
Barnet Regeneration One of our recent joint ventures is with Home Group at the Douglas Bader Park estate in Barnet where we plan to build 750 homes.
We will be working with Poplar HARCA and its residents to deliver a wide ranging redevelopment of the Teviot Estate in Tower Hamlets.
The three striking tower blocks we have built at Lea Bridge, are an integral part of the regeneration of this area of East London.
Completions Building upon our successful relationship with Peabody, Motion is a joint venture development completed in 2020. This striking development consists of three stylish towers and a new landscaped square, by the side of the newly reopened Lea Bridge station. Replacing dilapidated warehouses, this development of 300 homes and 1,500 sqm of commercial and retail space marks the beginning of the exciting regeneration of the area, spearheaded by Waltham Forest Council. Motion was a significant success with homebuyers, with all homes sold in the 16 months since launch. The joint venture partnership was also awarded Silver in the 2020 WhatHouse? Awards Best Partnership category.
New Ventures
Success In Motion
Launched in 2019, The Lawns is Hill’s third successful partnership with Anchor Hanover. The development, which completed in the summer of 2020 and quickly sold out, exemplifies multi-generational regeneration at its best. It combines the redevelopment of an existing sheltered housing block as well as two pieces of land owned by Hackney Council to create a striking multi-use development. It includes a dramatic seven storey residential block, new retail/commercial space and renewed and improved external public realm.
The project also provided a new community resource centre which will serve the local community. This contemporary intergenerational development comprises 28 London affordable rent apartments for older people, alongside 12 shared ownership and 32 outright sale non-age restricted apartments. We were proud to complete the project on time and to budget despite the added challenge of delivering the development through the first Covid-19 lockdown.
Bioregional Homes and Hill Hill Group formed a joint venture partnership with Bioregional Homes to build zero-carbon, affordable homes for sale to local people. The partnership will embrace Bioregional Homes’ One Planet Living® principles, building homes that are zero carbon from sustainable materials using modern methods of construction in developments where recycling, food growing and biodiversity are encouraged to help people and local communities to flourish.
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13. Investment Partnerships
T H E H I L L WAY
Enabling development The urgent need for new housing remains a top priority for councils across the country. Whilst delivering many other key civic objectives, local authorities are facing increased pressure to enhance their areas and create safe, attractive and sustainable communities for people to live in. To tackle this head on, we have developed a proven and successful model of genuine partnership with local authorities to help deliver their regeneration objectives whilst moving them to the forefront of the sustainability agenda and allowing them to generate additional capital or revenue to reinvest in other areas of their communities. Hill Investment Partnerships was established to enable local authorities to be closely involved in the development of their own portfolio of property assets and to invest in sites which play a fundamental role in shaping their districts/counties. However all of this is done with reduced risk to the local authority as we effectively become the in-house development department, advising on strategy, disposal, construction, sustainability and sales. We are proud to be operating three investment partnerships, with Cambridge City Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.
Cromwell Road, Cambridge
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easy to set up
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13. Investment Partnerships Cont. easy to set up
council retains control
The partners have an equal The partners have an equal share share
Benefits
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The key benefits of the partnership model to our investment partners are: Forward funding have an equal share The partners have an equal share easy to set up
council control Partnership is council retainsretains control
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quick £ and easy to set up
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equal share
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enhanced return control The partners have an equal share council retains control Forward funding Forward funding
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The local
authority partner retains£ control £ on development options
enhanced enhanced returnreturn council retains control
Forward funding
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An enhanced return for the partner - land receipt plus equal share of the development profit enhanced return
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enhanced return Four years ago, we formed Cambridge Investment Guaranteed delivery Partnership (CIP) with Cambridge City Council in a bid to tackle the affordable housing shortage across the city. CIP’s target was to build 500 sustainable new council homes by March 2022, a target that was met a full year earlier. CIP is addressing the acute housing need in Cambridge by providing high quality new council Guaranteed delivery and market sale homes, along with commercial and community facilities. We have successfully completed 86 homes and are currently live on site constructing 703 more. We also have plans for a further 159 homes,
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Guaranteed delivery of regeneration and new housing to support the local economy
£ At The Beginning Representatives of CIP at the start onsite event at Timber Works – from left to right Cllr Anna Smith, Tom Hill, Cllr Richard Johnson, Clare Flowers and Cllr Dave Baigent.
Right On Track
a mix of which have planning approval or have been submitted for planning, and we are also excited to be delivering the first Passivhaus certified council homes for the city.
Ironworks is Cambridge Investment Partnership’s landmark development and is close to Cromwell Road, the partnership’s biggest project.
CIP’s vision includes: y Invest in the development of land to create successful new places that meet both financial and social objectives y Improve the use of council assets and those of other public sector bodies in Cambridge to meet the identified housing need across the city y Optimise financial return through enhanced asset value.
Cllr Richard Johnson, Executive Councillor for Housing for Cambridge City Council and CIP board member said: “When the partnership was set up four years ago, we gave ourselves the ambitious target to be onsite building 500 new council homes by March 2022. We are delighted to have achieved this a year ahead of schedule and have now committed further to delivering a minimum of 1,700 new homes, of which 1,000 will be affordable within the next ten years.”
Social £8m worth of S106 money committed to local schools, parks, sports centres, NHS and the Chisholm Trail through the Cambridge Investment Partnership.
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13. Investment Partnerships Cont.
Anstey Way, Cambridge Community Art Sarah Sabin is one of the artists delivering public art across the CIP developments. She worked closely with local community groups to influence the design and character of the Anstey Road artwork.
2020 marked many key milestones for CIP, including our first completion, Anstey Way in Trumpington. This 0.51 hectare site was previously occupied by bungalows and flats built in the 1950s. We replaced these 28 ageing council homes, built post war, with 56 new sustainable one, two and three bedroom council rented apartments within 11, two and three storey buildings. The first residents have now moved into our flagship development, Ironworks on Mill Road. This striking development will consist of 236 homes, 50% of which will be socially rented homes. Upon completion, there will be a new community centre which will serve the wider Mill Road community. It will also have strong cycle links, opening up a path to the new Chisholm Trail, which provides connectivity across the city. Flagship Ironworks is CIP’s flagship development close to the centre of Cambridge.
Social
We started onsite at our joint Cromwell Road development, Timber Works, our largest CIP scheme in the pipeline, built upon the former Ridgeons builders yard. Timber Works consists of a mix of apartments and houses for market sale and social rent, as well as a new open space and community facilities. Sales launched at Timber Works in late 2020 and the development has proved popular with buyers.
Ironworks: 236 homes, 50% for social rent.
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13. Investment Partnerships Cont. Self Portrait Artist Hilary Cox Condon is involved in art projects at CIP’s Ironworks.
Students from Cambridge Regional College and pupils from Kings Hedges School were among dozens of passers-by who stopped every day to admire the work as the fantastic mural came to life with some passers-by commenting: “Thank you for making this little bit of the world more beautiful.” “It lifts my spirits to see this lovely picture every day.” “We always go the long way around so the children can see what’s new each time we pass.”
Wulfstan Way resident Joanna Elliott and her 10 year old son, Sam had been living in private rented accommodation in Cambridge for the past six and a half years until her landlord suddenly served her notice to quit: “On a dog walk one day, we saw that Cambridge Investment Partnership was building a small development of new council homes on the same road as my friend lives on so I was really keen to find out more. I stayed up until midnight, waiting for the new homes to come on the list and put my application in. I couldn’t quite believe it when we were successful and I just burst into tears.”
Rushmoor
We submitted two planning applications to pilot the first Passivhaus council home projects in Cambridge. The planning applications at Fen Road and Ditton Fields will provide 18 low carbon, energy efficient new council homes as part of the council’s commitments to tackling the climate emergency. Working closely with experienced architects, Pollard Thomas Edwards, the pilot properties will have very high standards of environmental sustainability with very low energy use and heating costs. They will be built using offsite timber frame systems, with highly insulated walls and gas free heating. In September, a group of pupils at Colville Primary School in Cambridge designed creative posters focusing on how to stay safe on a building site. The designs were displayed prominently on the hoardings of our Colville Road site.
Environment
Colville Primary School is located directly behind the second phase of this development, a major regeneration project providing 69 new homes. CIP representatives visited the local school earlier in the year to deliver resources for the children, including buddy shelters for the playground, mud kitchens, branded stationery and construction dressing-up items, including hard hats, hi-vis jackets and toy tools, to support early years construction role play. This year we also jointly purchased a vacant site at one of the last parcels of land at Orchard Park, Cambridge. We submitted a planning application that will provide 75 new homes, including 40% council rented homes, in a creative new design with two apartment blocks and a row of coach houses. We invited local residents and artists to create the design of our hoarding for the site as we wanted it to be colourful and vibrant. The neighbouring Marmalade Lane co-housing community proposed a mural design which celebrates the local flora that exists in this corner of Cambridge. CIP donated the painting materials and many residents in Orchard Park donated jam jars, left over paints and made donations to buy brushes.
Another happy resident at Wulfstan Way is Akram Ali and his young family, who said: “We came across details of the new council homes being built at Wulfstan Way and were really interested so put an application in. We couldn’t believe it when we were successful as it was only our second home to bid on. “My wife and I fell in love with it straightaway. The house has three bedrooms and we really liked the detached style, with just two other new homes in a small cul-de-sac. The quality of build is really good with big windows everywhere and inside it has been designed really well. You feel like a lot of thought has gone into the house, such as lots of plug sockets in really useful places.”
In November 2018, the Rushmoor Development Partnership (RDP) was formed between Hill Investment Partnerships and Rushmoor Borough Council to deliver major regeneration schemes in Aldershot and Farnborough. The RDP is responsible for bringing forward plans to build on existing council-owned sites and create distinctive, mixed-use town centres that offer high-quality retail, leisure and cultural enrichment, alongside employment opportunities and the delivery of much needed new homes. One of the key sites identified in the early stages of the partnership was Aldershot town centre surrounding Union Street. We implemented community engagement to support elements of our planning application, which was based on direct feedback results from two public consultation events, attended by over 1,200 people. Out of the 304 responses, 98% were in agreement that Aldershot town centre was in need of regeneration. In June 2020, we were granted planning approval to transform the area and create over 2,200 sqm of high quality retail, commercial and meanwhile space - public space - such as pedestrianised walkways and seating, along with 100 new one, two and three bedroom homes and 128 student accommodation units for the University of Creative Arts.
The first Passivhaus council homes in Cambridge are in the pipeline.
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13. Investment Partnerships Cont.
Demolition of old, existing buildings has begun to make way for the area’s redevelopment, expected to begin in Summer 2021. We are also looking at redeveloping the under-utilised car park, Parson’s Barracks in Aldershot, as part of our regeneration programme, with plans for the site coming forward in the near future. We are currently devising a plan to transform the Civic Quarter site south of Farnborough town centre, to bring a mixed-use space with new opportunities for town centre living, alongside ground floor spaces for cafés and restaurants, library, office and community space. It would also support the creation of Rushmoor Borough Council’s separate plans to provide a new leisure centre. Based on the public’s feedback, key objectives were established that will be used to bring forward the development of the masterplan. These include promoting sustainability, improving health and wellbeing, increasing footfall and developing a community heart. We are now exploring an exciting new way to think about placemaking, where development is designed so that everything people need to live, work and enjoy their time is within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. Following further consultations with the public, we are aiming to submit our refreshed master plan for the Civic Quarter in late Summer 2021.
South Cambridgeshire We were appointed by South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) to form a new investment partnership following an extensive tender process. We successfully showcased our suitability as qualified partners with the resources and skills to advise and the competencies to jointly invest in opportunities.
Union Street Regeneration Comprehensive redevelopment of a key area of Aldershot, creating a revitalised and vibrant town centre.
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The partnership will acquire land for new homes, including council and social rented properties, along with commercial developments and supporting services, which will help to secure the local economy as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Utilising The Space CIP’s Ventress Close is an infill project in the central area of a residential block in Cambridge’s Queen Edith’s Ward.
Identifying suitable land opportunities will be a core element of work done by the partnership. Target sites are located within South Cambridgeshire and the wider travel to work area, as determined by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER). The South Cambridgeshire Investment Partnership will build a range of high-quality, sustainable private sale and affordable housing and regeneration developments to support local communities and economies, as well as investment and income generating opportunities for the council. The broad range of potential developments to be delivered by the South Cambridgeshire Investment Partnership include council and social rented homes, private sale homes, private rented sector (PRS) housing, senior and assisted living, estate regeneration and mixed-use developments.
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14. Partnering for Success
T H E H I L L WAY
Trusted partnerships Throughout the history of Hill we have expanded our geography in line with our business plans and clients’ needs. Our decision to expand to Bristol was a natural next step in the evolution of Hill. Similarly, over time we have evolved from a contractor into a diverse housebuilding business now offering clients a wider range of skills and services as a contractor or partner, or delivering our own first class design and build developments. However, we deliver more than just buildings. We are committed to trusted, lasting partnerships with our clients, offering the ability to work alongside client teams with a pool of expertise to draw from over the lifetime of any
contract. Delivering successful partnerships is The Hill Way and repeat business is central to this. Our focus is on developing places that make residents happy, places where people enjoy living and, ultimately, where people put down roots and invest back into their community. This is complemented by our industry leading social value offer with a focus on prosperity, healthy places, safety and belonging to communities.
New Union Wharf Following our successful partnership with L&Q, we were selected to deliver the final stages of this multi phase development at New Union Wharf, where 189 original homes are being replaced with 399 modern, energy efficient homes on the banks of the River Thames, overlooked by the Millennium Dome. In addition to the new homes, we also carried out improvement works along the existing Thames River Wall and has provided a new energy centre for the estate. Residents have always been at the heart of the decision making process at New Union Wharf, including being involved in the selection of Hill as the partner to redevelop the estate. With regular consultation and the appointment of a dedicated onsite liaison officer, our team has gained the trust and respect of the local community during our eight years onsite. We are very proud to have been involved with the development of New Union Wharf from the very beginning starting onsite in 2013 and on track to complete in early 2022.
Long Lasting Partnership We are proud to have been involved in this Thames-side project for the entire eight year build duration.
Social We have worked side by side with the residents of New Union Wharf for eight years.
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14. Partnering for Success Cont. Multi-generational Homes
Burnt Oak
Newington Gate is a joint venture with Anchor Hanover combining apartments for the over 55s with shared ownership and first time buyer homes.
Delivered for our client Opendoor Homes, a subsidiary of The Barnet Group, Burnt Oak was successfully handed over in early 2020. The completion of this site was a huge landmark in Opendoor Homes’s journey to build 320 new homes in the Borough of Barnet.
Eywood House, St Albans
Garden City Living John Coxall Court is a development of one and two bedroom apartments for the over 55s in Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire.
Eywood House Eywood House sits on the site of the former Betty Entwistle House, redundant sheltered housing accommodation owned by St Albans District Council. The scheme is a partnership between St Albans District Council and bpha, making better use of public owned land and attracting government grant funding to provide much needed housing and care for older people.
Mawby Drive This greenfield, rural exception site, adjacent to the South Cambridgeshire village of Fulbourn, afforded our clients the opportunity to provide much needed affordable homes for local residents within their existing community. Working with Accent and South Cambridgeshire District Council, we delivered a mix of energy efficient one bedroom apartments and two and three bedroom houses, which will provide affordable homes in an area where the average house price is in excess of £400,000.
Greenfield Homes Mawby Drive, in the South Cambridgeshire village of Fulbourn, is a collection of affordable and energy efficient homes.
Spalding Close We completed this mix of social and affordable rent and shared ownership homes in Braintree. The 34 homes replace 20 rented and 11 temporary properties, which could no longer be maintained due to their poor condition.
Social Delivering 72 homes for a new intergenerational community in Newington Green, North London.
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New Union Wharf, Isle of Dogs
15. Creating Communities
T H E H I L L WAY
Community first We believe regeneration should first and foremost deliver on the needs of the existing residents whose lives, homes and community we are transforming. Our approach is to retain the integrity of the community every step of the way and, overall, for residents to feel it’s still their home when work is done. We understand and appreciate this is not gentrification. We engage with residents by hosting consultations from the early stages of planning, so that we can learn what’s at the heart of the community and truly understand what they need and are able to support from the outset. We like to give back early, be that in the form of a new green space or a community centre for residents to enjoy while construction takes place. At Hill, we take a valued approach to transforming communities. It is important to us that we prioritise long-lasting results over short-term gain. We deliver developments that will stand the test of time and are futureproofed across all aspects. Throughout this process, we ensure residents feel a social belonging to the community by offering
employment and skills training where we can, always monitoring people’s safety and sense of security. We want to allow families to flourish during periods of construction, not to have to wait until it is complete to start living again. Sustainability is a key consideration in the planning of our regeneration projects. Not only do we deliver new homes, but we improve air quality and plan housing that will suit multi-generational communities. We deliver regeneration projects that adhere to the One Planet Living framework to create sustainable homes, sustainable places and overall happy and healthy places for people to live. Our extensive experience in both estate and urban regeneration has equipped us with the core skills and empathy to support communities by improving the environments in which they live. From transforming old industrial brownfield sites to redeveloping town centres, we are trusted and competent to deliver large-scale regeneration projects that benefit local economies and enhance the quality of lives.
In Consultation We will be working closely with residents to transform the Teviot Estate in Tower Hamlets.
In August, we appointed Andy Fancy as Regional Managing Director for our Special Projects Region. Joining from Countryside Plc, Andy will oversee growth and is bringing extensive experience of strategic development to his new role, where he will lead our growing focus on estate regeneration.
In consultation with the residents steering group, we will appoint a master planner in 2021 and continue consultation with residents, London Borough of Tower Hamlets and other stakeholders to develop the designs. A planning application to the local authority is expected to be finalised in mid to late 2022.
Following our successful appointment for the regeneration of the Teviot Estate, Andy has already begun working with residents and businesses to deliver a comprehensive and inspiring social value package, which will be executed over the lifetime of the Teviot Estate redevelopment. The package includes employment and training opportunities, enhancing community facilities and contributing to existing services. The project will also include extensive infrastructure investment to better connect the Teviot Estate to surrounding areas and transport hubs.
Paul Mancrief, Resident Steering Group member said: “Hill were found to be very knowledgeable with regard to the area, the issues Teviot currently faces and were full of practical ways to overcome them both now and in the future.”
In collaboration with Poplar HARCA, our vision is to create safer and more inclusive communities. With this in mind, the joint venture will create a community chest fund to give local organisations the opportunity to bid for funding, unlocking socio-economic value. We have appointed a social value manager to lead this delivery.
Steve Stride, Chief Executive, Poplar HARCA said: “Hill demonstrated a complete alignment with the community and our vision for the Teviot regeneration to be a “best in class” exemplar for urban regeneration, putting residents and stakeholders at its heart.” Andy Hill, Chief Executive at Hill said: “The residents’ ambitions will be at the heart of the plans, and we will bolster these aspirations with our extensive experience in creating thriving new communities and successful placemaking.”
Strategic Lead New Regional Director Andy Fancy will play a pivotal role in our regeneration projects.
Governance £3m social value package made available for Teviot Estate Regeneration.
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15. Creating Communities Cont.
Coming Together The new community centre at Rectory Park is for everyone.
We successfully completed the regeneration of the Rectory Park estate in Ealing. In 2012, we were appointed to work with Network Homes, Ealing Council and the local community on the regeneration of this London neighbourhood. The project included the phased demolition of 270 dwellings and the development of 449 new homes over four phases, with a community centre, landscaping and play facilities. The new development provides energy efficient accommodation, consisting of one, two and three bedroom apartments and houses. We worked with all stakeholders from an early stage, including Network Homes, the resident steering group, council officers and members to agree the design. We also engaged with local residents from the outset in the design development via workshops, exhibitions and drop-in sessions. The resident steering group had input on layouts, mix of accommodation, building heights, materials and landscaping. The group, along with the project team, launched the final designs and models at the estate wide fun day, where we gained the full support of the local community.
Rectory Park has been highly praised by the CABE design council and the GLA for placing a strong focus on the design of landscaped spaces to complement the estate’s proximity to the neighbouring Northolt and Greenford Countryside Park and Northolt Golf Course. The full project completed in July 2020, a full three months ahead of schedule despite Covid-19 restrictions.
Network Homes/Ealing Council commented: “The whole team were a delight to work with. Queries were responded to and solutions always offered. Promises were delivered on and the relationship remained good throughout.” Seasprite Close is a project adjacent to Rectory Park and also in partnership with Network Homes and Ealing Council. This development will provide new affordable and private sale homes for the area, including a mix of maisonettes, townhouses and one, two and three bedroom apartments.
Rectory Park, Ealing
Seasprite Close will provide much needed affordable dwellings that cater for a mixture of needs and ages and is set within an attractive landscaped setting.
The Next Step The successful partnership of Hill and Ealing Council are working together to provide much needed affordable new homes on a site adjacent to Rectory Park.
The project seeks to maximise the potential of the site, which previously housed outdated flats and associated parking areas. We want to create an inclusive and highly accessible housing development of new homes that embraces sustainable urban design, high quality placemaking, and improves safety and security in the area.
Social Our Fish Island Village development aimed to enhance and enlarge the existing vibrant community and this resulted in around 90% of the homes being sold to local people.
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15. Creating Communities Cont. First Again Hill is also the chosen partner for the first phase of the High Path estate regeneration in Wimbledon.
We also continued work on the Aylesbury Estate regeneration for Notting Hill Genesis and Southwark Council. We are delivering 229 new mixed tenure homes at the estate’s First Development Site (FDS) project. This will comprise 84% homes for social rent, including 54 extra care units, and seven homes for people with learning difficulties. The FDS, comprising 830 homes, forms part of the overall regeneration process to deliver 3,500 new homes, half of which will be affordable, a new community facility and extensive new public open space.
As well as improving the local environment, the partnership is also committed to ensuring that local people experience the social and economic benefits of regeneration, such as employment, education and training and improvements in health and wellbeing. The site will provide a wide range of job and training opportunities for Southwark residents, including 224 sustained jobs, 98 apprenticeships and 105 training places.
First Onsite We are delivering the first stage of the extensive regeneration of the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark.
We were appointed by our trusted partners Clarion to deliver the first phase of homes at the High Path estate regeneration in Wimbledon which, in total, will see the redevelopment of over 600 homes, as well as an additional 1,000 new homes and amenities. We continued to progress with the first phase, which comprises 134 homes; 125 apartments and nine houses. Both existing and future residents have been carefully considered throughout the planning stages, with the proposal including a variety of energy efficient properties and replacement homes for current residents. A variety of styles, such as flats, duplexes, maisonettes and houses, new homes with wheelchair access, along with a new neighbourhood park providing residents with outdoor space, are planned. When complete, there will also be more than 180 sqm of flexible non-residential space, such as shops, cafés, offices and crèches, which will bring new amenity and employment space to the area. Each aspect of the project has been included as a result of direct feedback from a series of public consultations.
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In October, we entered the formal build contract to progress Phase 1 of the rebuilding of the South Lambeth Estate. We commenced work onsite immediately, and will deliver 30 new affordable homes, including 18 at council-level rent and 12 shared ownership for existing secure tenants and resident homeowners to move into. The rebuilt estate will feel safer and better connected to the surrounding area and have more usable shared outdoor space.
Rebuilding We have recently moved onsite to start the rebuilding of the first phase of the South Lambeth Estate.
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Mosaics, Oxford
16. Placemaking
Rectory Park, Ealing
T H E H I L L WAY
A sense of place At Hill, we believe that quality should not end at the door of the homes we build. When we build new homes we want to deliver a quality place too – a place people want to live, work, play and learn in. This is why we take a holistic approach to placemaking, a multi-pronged method to the planning, urban design and management of public spaces. We want to maximise the assets and potential of the communities we build in by creating sustainable, public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness and wellbeing. We transform these places to live so we can enhance quality of lives. Investment in infrastructure, such as transport and facilities, is just as important as the architectural form of the buildings, as well as integrated commercial uses.
Our philosophy is to make early investments in projects to speed up placemaking and maximise community benefits. Whether it is transport hubs, community centres, nurseries or schools, we seek to create a place as early as possible. Our in-house commercial property experts are focused on maximising value for our commercial assets by optimising design and cultivating deep relationships with tenants. Most importantly, they seek to deliver benefit for the broader community in all commercial premises by identifying the right tenants with a focus on early occupation.
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16. Placemaking Cont. Creating Communities Marleigh is a large-scale joint venture in Cambridge where we are also delivering parks, playing fields, a school and retail units.
partner to create a cohesive community and art strategy for the development. Matthew is a sculptor specialising in large-scale works and civic fine art. He has been involved with Marleigh from its conception, creating the dramatic landmark Torus sculpture, six large graphic art panels that will eventually be placed throughout Marleigh, as well as aero and motor engineering inspired seating and cycle hoop bike racks. These unique pieces are a nod to Marleigh’s rich engineering history as well as creating eye-catching public spaces, and enhancing the environment for all to enjoy. We wanted to begin building the community spirit early, so to mark the launch of our homes at Marleigh, in February 2020, we hosted a programme of pop up events spanning two weeks. We made sure we had something for everyone and kicked off the programme with a meet and greet with Cambridge United FC’s assistant coach and some of the first team players. Other events included: y An arts and crafts session with artist and children’s author, Elena Arevalo Melville y A Wild Rosamund floral workshop y Pop up talk with Suna Interior Design
Marleigh Marleigh has placemaking at the very heart of its planning. It is a joint venture with fellow Cambridge company Marshall. The first phase of development has progressed well delivering 547 homes, a mix of apartments and houses. We have also been granted planning permission to commence work on phase 2, which will provide a further 417 homes. Once complete, Marleigh will have a total of 1,300 new homes, a market square, new primary school, community centre and many other features residents can enjoy, such as woodland walks and allotments. It will also be accompanied by planned infrastructure works for the area, part of the Local Plan for 2030, which has visioned 12,000 homes plus some five million square feet of business and commercial space, providing the jobs necessary to make the
site sustainable in the long term. There will also be integrated, high-speed public transport connections to the central railway station, the city centre and other key sites in and around Cambridge. It’s important to us that the environment we create at Marleigh is maintained and protected so that it can be enjoyed by residents and visitors for years to come. With that in mind, we have engaged the Land Trust, a national land management charity dedicated to managing and preserving over 70 sites across the UK, organising routine maintenance such as grass cutting, weeding, litter picking, looking after the public art and play equipment. At Marleigh the service will also include the community centre, the market square and the green open space. The public art at Marleigh also makes it such a fascinating and a special place to live. We appointed Cambridge-born Matthew Lane-Sanderson as our
y CAMYOGA taster session, including yoga, pilates and barre classes y A wine-tasting event with Mark Anstead of Cambridge Wine School. The events proved to be a great success, welcoming many locals and interested buyers through our doors. We have ambitious plans for events in 2021, when Covid-19 restrictions allow.
On signing up the second phase of our joint venture at Marleigh, totalling over 400 additional homes, Andy Hill, Chief Executive of Hill Group, said: “We are delighted to continue our successful partnership with the Marshall Group to deliver the next instalment of this innovative new neighbourhood. As two family run, Cambridge companies we share the same vision and commitment to building inspiring and sustainable communities which will stand the test of time. Marleigh marks the first step in the creation of a new landmark district which will transform East Cambridge and we are proud to play a part in that legacy.” Richard Howe, Managing Director of Marshall Group Properties, added: “We are pleased to be extending our partnership with Hill Group to deliver this important second phase of Marleigh. The first phase is already well underway, and we are excited that the first residents of Marleigh will soon move into their new homes.”
Newcomers Ruben and Anna are two of the new residents at Marleigh.
Social £99.5k public art fund for Marleigh.
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16. Placemaking Cont.
BBC Filming at Mosaics
Mosaics Our Mosaics project is the first of the residential homes delivered as part of the Barton Park regeneration project being developed by Grosvenor in partnership with Oxford City Council, and forms one of the Government’s flagship NHS Healthy New Towns. Located on the outskirts of the city, this new community boasts an impressively designed masterplan with an array of properties from apartments and houses, that are now home to a vast range of buyers. Mosaics’ architecture was carefully considered to ensure that the new homes will be harmoniously integrated with the green settings of the development, enabling the residents to enjoy the great outdoors from their own doorstep. The Linear Park, with its peaceful ponds, has been enhanced with wooden walkway and viewing platforms, especially designed as spaces for relaxation and wildlife spotting. Natural and equipped play areas have been incorporated, providing the youngest
residents with space for fun and games. These were developed early so that they could mature as the build progresses, adding value to residents as they move into their new home. The Greenway, with its wild planting and native trees, constitutes a natural continuation of the Bayswater Brook into the residential area. We are working with Grosvenor to design imaginatively created spaces, such as Gladstone Gardens, to provide green views for the homes arranged around them and to become social retreats that bring people together. Mosaics truly offers modern city living on the edge of the countryside, allowing residents to enjoy the very best of both worlds. With a range of properties from one bedroom modern apartments to spacious family houses, Mosaics has a home for all and is ready to welcome residents into its vibrant community. The final phase is under construction and is set to complete in 2021.
In the Summer of 2020, we were thrilled to host Alan Carr and the BBC Two Interior Design Masters production team at Mosaics. Five of our beautiful five bedroom Bayswaters Villas were used as the filming location for the first episode of the new series, which aired in Spring 2021. The production team were the ultimate professionals and we loved seeing the contestants unveil their designs and talent on these stunning lakeside houses. When the show aired it proved to be a resounding success with viewers and interested buyers, resulting in a 2,800% increase in visitors to the Mosaics website. One of the most asked questions since the programme aired was did we keep any of the designs. The answer is yes. We felt one design, by Lynsey Ford, was so good, we decided we would keep it as the centrepiece of a new show home, which sold almost immediately, before the show had even aired. Creating Communities Contestants' designs, including the overall show winner, Lynsey Ford’s living room concept in navy with gold detailing.
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Fish Island Fish Island Village is our canalside development that has transformed the area of Hackney Wick in East London into an innovative and thriving community. Offering an eclectic mix of 580 one, two and three bedroom modern apartments and unique workspaces, the development has been designed as a place for like-minded people to collaborate and enjoy the very best of what the revived area has to offer. Along with our joint venture partners Peabody, we sought out a unique opportunity to create a new kind of residential scheme, mixing in creative and business opportunities with built-in studios and commercial facilities, giving the development a far greater chance of economic and social resilience.
In many ways, Fish Island Village feels less like a community and more like an independent nation. Rather than redesign the area, we have used the area’s rich history as a blueprint for a unique neighbourhood. Industrial-style architecture is a nod to the past, while local artwork celebrates the community’s creative spirit.
We partnered with workspace provider, The Trampery, to establish a campus on Fish Island Village to give budding fashion entrepreneurs a space for their creative talents. The destination will essentially be London’s new campus for innovative fashion, housing six acres of workspaces.
Stylish Loft Living Fish Island Village offers a wide variety of new homes, like this loft apartment, designed for modern living.
The Trampery is working with The British Fashion Council (BFC) to provide 32 dedicated, low rent studio spaces for the recipients of BFC’s successful NEWGEN initiative to support the growth of their fashion labels, helping to make Fish Island Village an up and coming fashion district full of local creative talent. These studios are now open, with the first occupiers moved in, and more to follow in 2021.
High Fashion Our workspace partner The Trampery aims to turn Fish Island Village into an innovative fashion centre.
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Knights Park Knights Park is our award winning development in Eddington, Cambridge – a community carefully developed and crafted by the University of Cambridge. We designed these homes for ecoconscious home buyers wanting to invest in a more sustainable future. The development was designed with ecology in mind and boasts beautiful green landscapes, nature havens and a unique range of standout energy efficiency features. We have won many awards for our development at Eddington due to its high quality design and green credentials. All the homes, which comprise a mix of apartments and houses, have been thoughtfully created to minimise residents’ carbon footprint and have been built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 and Lifetime Homes Standard.
Natural Backdrop Brook Leys forms a striking natural backdrop for the new sustainable community of Eddington.
Image courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects and www.mir.no
Annual Review 2020
Approximately 2,000 trees, plants and brambles have been planted in this first phase, helping to encourage the local flora and fauna, and a variety of roosting boxes have been erected to encourage swifts, house sparrows and starlings, as well as bats. The lakes and lagoons at Brook Leys, on the edge of Eddington, provide a striking natural landscape, whilst also delivering further habitat for local wildlife. Eddington has been created to deliver a new neighbourhood for the city and to create a sustainable community offering a high quality of life. Residents will be able to engage with the great outdoors thanks to the 123 acres of green open space that surrounds the development. Community spirit has been woven into the fabric of the area, with its very own community centre, Storey’s Field Centre, which hosts many events, such as lectures and music nights, and offers a perfect space to mingle with neighbours and friends. The University of Cambridge Primary School is also located in Eddington. The Ofsted Outstanding rated school opened in 2015 and provides education for children aged four to 11. It is a circular building with a central courtyard which incorporates learning clusters, flexible teaching rooms, communal areas and play spaces. We are proud to be delivering the first residential offering in this fantastic location and look forward to continuing to work closely with the University of Cambridge to create a sustainable community for environmentally focused homebuyers.
A New Chapter Rubicon, the next phase of sustainable homes at Eddington currently in development.
Rubicon, the next phase of homes at Eddington is currently being developed and will be delivering a new collection of modern, sustainable apartments to the area. The development consists of five buildings and a total of 186 units creating a distinctive urban edge to the new green corridor landscape beyond. Between each building are courts that act as urban thresholds, with south facing gardens overlooking the landscape. Attractive covered cycle store pavilions act as entrances to each court, decorated with metal screens that nod to the balustrades of St. John’s College. Rubicon puts cycling at its core, offering residents the ability to bring their bikes into their homes, enabled by wide corridors and bike storage space in the apartments. For more short-term use, porticoes at the entrance courts provide convenient sheltered racks for visitors. Rubicon will signify a unique new urban character for North West Cambridge’s southern fringe that has diversity, adaptability and cycling based urban living at its heart.
Environment 123 acres of open space around the new district of Eddington.
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17. Land
T H E H I L L WAY
Strategic land acquisitions We invest in land of various sizes and we develop quickly allowing us to push the finished product to market with speed. Our defining legacy is to create quality, sustainable homes and communities, developments all parties can be proud of. From small to medium sized housing schemes or infrastructure led strategic projects, to high density mixed tenure developments, our approach is always to add real value and a positive legacy.
Park Furnishers, Bristol Following on from the success of development opportunities in other university towns and cities, Bristol is now a key location for Hill. Park Furnishers has provided the opportunity for Hill to become actively involved in a project that is subject to relocation of the existing owner. Located to the south of the city centre and the river Avon, but close to Bedminster Train Station, the development provides an excellent opportunity to redevelop a tired industrial site into a much needed housing project for the city. We are involved in a tri-party agreement with Bristol City Council and Galliard Apsley to develop a framework plan to guide the regeneration of the area around Whitehouse Lane in this part of
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Cranbrook, Kent
We are planting 1.5 acres of woodland at Great Chesterford, to promote healthy living, biodiversity enhancement and carbon capture.
Bristol. Extensive community engagement has been underway with local residents and businesses to gain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities available. The outcome of the framework agreement will be the generation of a community manifesto and spatial strategy to guide subsequent planning applications within the area and to help deliver meaningful change for this part of Bristol. Whilst plans are being developed, Hill is actively engaging with local enterprises to identify meanwhile uses for Park Furnishers and provide avenues to activate and enliven the area before commencement of redevelopment.
Brick Kiln Farm, Cranbrook We purchased a 12.2 hectare site in Cranbrook, Kent. This Southern Region development has outline planning permission for up to 180 homes, of which 117 are for private sale and 63 affordable. There are a small number of one and two bedroom apartments with the remainder being two to five bedroom houses, one of which will be a new ‘Oast House’ delivered as part of the Outline Planning Permission.
The site sits within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (pictured) and next to the Cranbrook Conservation Area and a nature reserve. The development is landscape driven due to the AONB and Conservation Area which dictates that only 5.45 hectares will be developed with the remainder being landscaped, including provision of structural woodland planting, informal public open space, community orchard, children’s play area and an attenuation basin. Maintaining existing public rights of way and providing new pedestrian and cycle routes to deliver new connections with Cranbrook’s High Street are also required as part of the Reserved Matters Application. We anticipate submitting a reserved matters planning application in July 2021, with work commencing onsite in January 2022.
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17. Land Cont.
Oxford North Canalside 8.64 acres (3.5 hectares) of land at Canalside, delivering the first phase of homes for the new district, together with related infrastructure.
Garden Town Cambridgeshire We were selected to transform 550 hectares of land into a new Garden Town at Six Mile Bottom, Cambridgeshire.
Great Chesterford
Oxford North Canalside
Strategic Land
We acquired nine acres of land on the south eastern edge of the village of Great Chesterford in Uttlesford District, Essex. The greenfield site will form a new gateway to the village and include a selection of new homes for private sale.
We have begun an exciting project for the development of Oxford North, which comprises 64 acres of land. This new urban district of Oxford will be a thriving and vibrant community with innovation and sustainability driving its planning. We will be unlocking previously inaccessible land for residents and visitors, transforming the area by introducing tree-lined city streets and a mix of workspaces, homes, leisure and open green spaces.
We take the longer term view in promoting strategic land through the planning system to secure consent for future developments. By securing land in this way we are able to plan schemes to meet the needs of a local community and create highly sustainable developments in the most suitable locations.
The outline planning consists of 76 homes, as well as public open space. The development will comprise a diverse mixture of 46 private homes, including bungalows and two, three, four and five bedroom family houses. The scheme will also incorporate 30 affordable homes ranging from one to four bedrooms. We are also planting a 1.5 acre woodland with public access, providing opportunity for healthy living, biodiversity enhancement and carbon capture. The acquisition was brokered during lockdown by the Cheffins Rural & Development Team, acting on behalf of the landowners, with unconditional exchange. Completion of the sale took just eight weeks, demonstrating our ability to quickly progress such projects.
This new sustainable community will see £100 million of infrastructure investment and will deliver 87,000 sqm of workspace, 480 new homes and 23 acres of open space, including three new parks.
To support this, we have a growing team of strategic land specialists in place to identify opportunities and deliver planning strategies for sites which do not yet have permission or allocations in a local plan, but do have the potential for successful development.
Strategic Lead Role As part of the company’s five year business plan, we have created a dedicated new role to help us deliver our aim of building 5,000 homes per annum by 2025. Matt Tunley joined Hill in June 2020 as Head of Strategic Land. Matt is a chartered town planner and brings with him 20 years of experience in the promotion and acquisition of strategic land across the UK. Matt now works within Hill’s wider land team to set the strategic land strategy for the company and is tasked with increasing the number of development opportunities across the Group, including supporting the regional expansion across the south west. He was instrumental in securing the exchange of contracts on Westley Green, a new town of up to 8,500 homes, with retail, amenities and infrastructure near Newmarket. Matt’s strategy will help refocus the company’s approach to land and develop the business unit, which will not only support a pipeline of residential developments for Hill but will assist in the overall commercial delivery of our 2020-2025 business plan. Matt said: “At Hill, we are actively seeking more strategic land opportunities across southern England and have a highly experienced team available to deliver sustainable mixed use developments through our planning and development expertise."
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Westley Green at Six Mile Bottom After many years of planning, Hill and L&Q Estates announced we have been selected to transform the area of Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire. The asset, comprising 550 hectares of land to the east of Cambridge, will deliver strategic infrastructure, employment and up to 8,500 new homes. There is the opportunity to open up a new train station on the Cambridge to Newmarket line, together with road improvements between the A11 and A14. Most importantly, the new sustainable community will build upon garden city principles, with an overarching focus on wellbeing, quality of life and placing nature at the heart of design. The land is well placed to provide homes for people working in a number of strategic growth areas, such as the Biomedical Campus, Granta Park, and even Bury St Edmunds.
Key People Head of Strategic Land Matt Tunley is one of a number of important new leaders in our business.
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18. Health and Safety
T H E H I L L WAY
Redefining safety At Hill, the health and safety of our staff and supply chain and the conditions of the environment in which they work remains our absolute number one priority. Our HSE approach is central to everything we do. Each and every individual involved with the business plays an important role in ensuring our sites and offices continue to be safe and healthy environments. We are fortunate to have the benefit of a longserving health and safety team, who work tirelessly to ensure consistency and quality is maintained across all compliant sites. Our approach is centered on discipline, respect and pride in what we do. We enforce this throughout our teams and our supply chain. We have a reputation for being one of the safest housebuilders in the industry, and we are proud to have retained that status this year, with an accident incident rate 52% lower than the average Home Builders Federation (HBF) member.
Masking Up Masks are worn for most site based activities.
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18. Health and Safety Cont. Open Again Reopening our construction site at Marleigh in Cambridge with Covid-19 safe controls in place.
Meeting the Covid-19 Challenge At the beginning of 2020, our plans for the year were progressing well and there was bullish optimism amongst staff. We had a series of major development launches to look forward to and the company was operating at the pinnacle of productivity. However, by mid March the world looked a very different place and optimism was replaced with a nervousness at what the future might hold. When Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that “people must stay at home and certain businesses must close”, all of a sudden we were thrust into uncharted territory and the health and safety requirements grew exponentially overnight.
Team Hill reacted quickly and plans were put in place. Employees who had traditionally been office-based began working from home and the entire workforce quickly embraced video conferencing as a form of staying in touch, holding meetings and maintaining morale through Friday evening quizzes. A weekly newsletter, Inside Hill, was created by the internal communications team to keep Team Hill connected. The UK Government made a dispensation for the industry and our sites remained open until 27th March. Cobra-style Covid-19 committee meetings became a daily fixture and were attended by senior leaders from Hill. Within four weeks we managed to reopen six sites in order to support customers and allow moves to go ahead. Then, over a period of six weeks, we opened on average six sites per week until we were fully operational again. It is testament to Team Hill that some of our sites were back up and running within a month of closing down and the company quickly returned to around 80-95% capacity, dependent on site specifics, in a Covid-19 safe manner by the end of July.
Safe Sites Measures were put in place swiftly to protect teams onsite.
Governance Hill's accident incident rate for 2020 was 52% lower than the industry average.
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18. Health and Safety Cont. Making Our Offices Safe
A Safe Return To Work
Social distancing and other safety measures became the norm in our offices.
Our Msite app based technology allows workers to log into and out of site via their mobile phones.
spread of the virus by eliminating the need for biometric scanners and door buttons. QR codes were introduced so workers could access applications and information onsite using their mobile phone cameras, giving them the ability to access information about the building and construction as part of H&S files simply by scanning a poster. In 2021, Hill will move to a system of facial recognition technology. Later the company purchased lateral flow test kits which were distributed to all staff to ensure a safe working environment in offices and sites. This was not only to reduce the spread, but also give staff the comfort and reassurance to continue working.
Life Saving Training
Government guidance continued to support the purchasing of homes. In response, we produced a series of informative films to communicate to potential buyers and existing customers the Covid-19 safe measures we had put in place to enable viewings and completions to continue. At the point of shutdown, the NHS was under a tremendous amount of pressure and was unprepared for the increasing demand for PPE. We quickly realised we could help and joined the HBF’s attempt to pool PPE resources from housebuilders for donation to the NHS. Our Group Head of HSE, Paul Dyster, spearheaded Hill’s efforts, gathering hundreds of items of PPE which we donated to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and other local hospitals throughout the south east.
As the year progressed, work began on our return to office locations, with teams planning a slow, steady return with much reduced capacity. Offices were completely rearranged, desks were protected with perspex screens, one way systems were introduced and a video was produced to communicate the new rules to office workers. Plans were drawn as to where everyone was going to sit and safety measures, such as social distancing markers on floors and hand sanitisers on every flat surface, were introduced. Our Msite technology, brought into the business the previous year and which allows workers to log in and out of site with a mobile phone app, became an extra measure in providing a safe working environment onsite. The system helped decrease the potential
Supporting Our Hospitals Our Group Head of HSE, Paul Dyster, delivering PPE to Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge.
Social
Early in January 2020, a site employee found an elderly gentleman slumped on the stairs leading to the first floor flats Hill had converted into their site offices for the management of the Seasprite estate regeneration project in Ealing. The site employee reported this out of the ordinary occurrence to the Site Manager, Mitchell Murphy, whose actions and choices that day likely saved the man’s life. Mitchell found the man, who was in his seventies, on the stairs outside the flats where he appeared to be asleep. However, upon closer inspection it was clear the man was not breathing and the seriousness of the situation quickly became apparent. The challenging situation escalated further when the man’s wife arrived and understandably, became distressed at the site of her husband in cardiac arrest.
Mitchell, a trained health and safety operative, gave the patient CPR while an ambulance was called to the scene. It was later confirmed the man had suffered a severe heart attack. The ambulance arrived in 12 minutes and during the wait Mitchell continued administering CPR. He was aware a defibrillator was installed onsite, but in a decision that may well have saved the man’s life, Mitchell decided to maintain CPR rather than stopping to get the defibrillator. Amazingly, the man came around as the ambulance arrived. He was taken to hospital where he made a full recovery. Mitchell later commented that it was surreal to find himself in a situation where he could use his training and see it work. “I’m really pleased I was in the right place at the right time to help. I did exactly what I was trained to do and I like to think that I only did what anyone else would do in the same situation. I met the man in passing around four weeks later and he seemed fine. He didn’t recognise me but his wife was very thankful.” We’re proud to have members of Team Hill trained and ready to react in situations where public health is in danger and we’re thankful for Mitchell’s quick thinking and admirable response in helping to save the man’s life.
Donation of PPE to local hospitals at peak of virus by Hill and supply chain.
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19. Supply Chain
T H E H I L L WAY
Long-term relationships Our supply chain plays a fundamental part in our success. We like to develop long-term relationships and work together to ensure we are integrated and flexible with our operations. The resilience of the industry this year has been astounding. We truly believe the strength of our relationships with our suppliers enabled us to get back to work in a timely manner, as well as ensuring our sites were safe environments to work in.
Their cooperation with Hill’s response to Covid-19 was vital for us to be able to move ahead and for that we are tremendously grateful. As we look forward, we recognise the need to actively support and invest in our supply chain, including promoting innovative operations as well as more efficient ways of working.
Meeting Supply Chain – Online
Back Onsite Our supply chain’s cooperation helped us to reopen our sites quickly and safely.
As lockdown and social distancing continued to impact businesses throughout the world, we, like others, turned to digital solutions as a way to continue normal practices. As a housebuilder reliant on the skills, expertise and dedication of our supply chain, it was important that we could still meet with the market, if not always physically, then digitally. When permitted, we attended physical ConstructionOnline events in both Norwich and Stansted and later in the year exhibited at a virtual trade show organised by the same company. Due to an increase in workload and our regional expansions, we added new subcontractors to our approved supplier list with 45 of those supplying key trades. We implemented a new version of SupplyBase in January 2020, which has been developed continuously over the year. SupplyBase has proved to be a key software platform through which we can manage the efficient procurement and management of trades and services as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline the construction process.
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Relationships The long-term relationships we have carefully nurtured over the years enabled us to rise to the Covid-19 challenge.
Recognising the Value We recognise the incredible contribution our supply chain brings to Hill each and every day. It is by working alongside our suppliers that we have been able to expand and facilitate our passion to encourage more young people into the industry through a variety of routes, including apprenticeships. In 2020 our aim was to hold our very first Supply Chain Recognition Event to say a proper thank you. Regrettably, the event was put on hold due to health and safety concerns surrounding the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. However we are committed to delivering the event at a time when we can once again welcome friends, colleagues and employees to a well deserved evening of awards.
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19. Supply Chain Cont. ROL Construction Groundwork and RC frame contractors are working on several of our sites across London and our Eastern and Western Regions.
Apprentice to Full Time Plumber Darren Barrett applied for a plumbing apprenticeship at the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark where Hill is working with Notting Hill Genesis. Just over a year later, Darren has not only finished his diploma course, achieving NVQ level 2 in Plumbing and Heating, he is also now a full time employee at JS Wright. “I have always loved working with my hands, it’s what I’m really good at. I have spent most of my career working as a plumber’s mate on domestic jobs, but I really wanted to achieve some qualifications and learn the trade properly. I spotted this role on the Southwark Council website and haven’t looked back since. “I might go on to do some further exams at some point, but right now I am really happy and this will certainly be a year I will never forget."
Phil Leech, Managing Director, J S Wright said: “As M&E building engineering specialists, we are proud to be a long-standing services provider to such a well-respected housebuilder as Hill. Since we began working together in 2015, we have been privileged to design, install and maintain the mechanical services for over 3,500 homes at more than 15 of Hill’s outstanding residential regeneration developments across London. “Hill’s insistence on all its suppliers meeting the highest social, environmental and economic standards has enabled us to work together on delivering the most innovative and cost-effective heating, ventilation and plumbing solutions for all types and tenures of residential accommodation. We are especially delighted with Hill’s commitment to providing residents with the carbon and cost saving benefits of heat network technology and its clients with the time and manpower saving efficiencies of offsite construction, for which it is able to rely on our full support. Our successful partnership has only been made possible by our organisations working collaboratively and openly with a shared vision and values. Quality, integrity and trust have been watchwords in our relationship from the start, which is why Hill is such a great company to do business with.”
Clerkin Civils Clerkin Civils has worked on a number of Hill developments, including the first Foundation 200 site in Cambridge.
Mort Reidy, Company Director, ROL Construction commented: “We have been working with Hill for over eight years now on various groundwork and RC frame projects. We have built up a very good relationship with all regions, and we’re currently working on projects within their London, Western and Eastern Regions. “The work we have secured from Hill over the years has allowed our company to develop and grow both in experience and turnover. We have great faith in Hill as our client in not only ensuring all payments are scheduled to accommodate the subcontractor’s own supply chain, but also in regard to health and safety, design and information. We look forward to building on this relationship in the future. “The response by Hill to the pandemic and getting people back to work in a timely and safe manner should be commended highly and thanks to this we did not have to furlough or let many staff go.”
Ben Potter, Commercial Director, Clerkin Civils said: “Clerkin originally began working with Hill back in 2016 at the Foundry Field development in Burnham Market. We have since worked with both Hill and Cambridge Investment Partnership on various residential jobs across the region, including the Foundation 200 units being installed across a range of locations in Cambridgeshire. “The relationship with both regions has been easy, collaborative and proactive throughout. Our experience with Hill has been consistently positive and professional, all the way from Jon Thistlethwaite and Tom Hill at Regional Director level, right through to the commercial and technical teams and site agents on the ground. We are just about to start the final Foundation 200 site in Cambridge, which we are very proud to be involved with, and we look forward to working with Hill on this and many other jobs in the future.”
JS Wright In the last six years JS Wright has worked on 3,500 Hill homes across 15 London sites.
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£100k Homes Launch Clerkin Civils is also one of the suppliers involved in the £100k homes initiative.
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20. Tackling Homelessness
Giving back to the community
SoloHaus Showhome One of the first Foundation 200 homes to come off the production line being delivered to Hill’s Waltham Abbey Head Office.
We will deliver 200 purpose built MMC homes on small plots of unused land over a five-year period
As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations in 2019, CEO Andy Hill pledged to give back to the communities in which we operate by setting up Foundation 200, a £12million initiative to provide modular homes for homeless people. Working in partnership with charities and local authorities, we will deliver 200 purpose built, MMC homes on small plots of unused land over a five-year period. These will provide homes and a fresh start for people who are rebuilding their lives following a period of living on the streets.
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Garages To Homes
20. Tackling Homelessness Cont.
The first of our Foundation 200 units are located on a disused garage site at Dundee Close, Cambridge.
Pandemic Highlights Homelessness
Working in Partnership
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the scale and gravity of homelessness in the UK was brought into focus. Local authorities rushed to provide temporary accommodation for rough sleepers, both in hotels that had been temporarily closed and other councilowned facilities. However, as the country emerged from lockdown and hotels began to reopen, many councils were faced with a moral and ethical dilemma. This raised serious questions about society’s attitudes towards homelessness and many local authorities rightly decided it would be wrong to force individuals to return to the streets.
Working with our production partners, we blended Hill’s design and specification expertise with the inventive specialisation of Volumetric Modular to produce the Foundation 200 homes. However, for the homes to be safe spaces where people could rebuild their lives, we needed a partner to look after the human aspects of the programme. It was decided that the homes would only be gifted to specialist homelessness charities with proven expertise in providing ongoing support to residents. The Salvation Army, with its own similar homelessness project (Project Malachi) and its national networks made it the perfect partner.
At the same time, Foundation 200 launched via an online webcast attended by 300 representatives from local authorities, charities and housing associations from across the UK. The scheme was seen as a timely route to address the immediate housing needs of homeless people in their areas. The full quota of Foundation 200 homes was quickly allocated, yet enquiries continued to arrive from all over the country, sometimes with requests for hundreds of units. It became clear that there was a pressing need to find a way to provide a great many more homes to address the nationwide problem. We reacted quickly, upscaling operations by establishing a second production facility to bring the homes to market for local authorities to order in the volumes their boroughs and cities required.
To address the challenges surrounding planning for Foundation 200 developments, we also approached Citizens UK, an alliance of hundreds of member organisations dedicated to taking action for social justice and the common good. Together with the Salvation Army, a tripartite organisation called SHC Partnership was formed.
First Homes Occupied Project timeline December
Foundation 200 initiative launched
March
Online launch of prototype
June
Event with Cambridge City Council to launch Next Steps
August
New charity partners on board
September
Foundation 200 Art Project launched
October
Formation of SHC Partnership
November
Acquisition of Volumetric Modular and second MMC factory
December
First Foundation 200 homes open at Dundee Close
The very first Foundation 200 development was completed in December 2020 at a council-owned garage site in north Cambridge. The homes were handed over to our charity partner, Jimmy’s, who gave four former rough sleepers a special Christmas, allowing them to move into a place of their own as a temporary stepping stone to a more permanent form of accommodation. Jimmy’s, which manages the homes and provides ongoing support to the residents, works with the council across the city to provide support and accommodation to people who need it most. Following this exciting milestone, two more modular developments in Cambridge are in progress. Dundee Close resident commented: “I’m loving my new place, it’s perfect for me and I’m enjoying having my own space. I feel lucky and am really grateful for this opportunity.”
Homes From Hill Director Tom Hill welcomes Cambridge City Councillor Gerri Bird and Jimmy’s Chief Executive Mark Allen to Dundee Close.
Social 66 Foundation 200 homes delivered or gained planning in 2020.
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Scaling Up
20. Tackling Homelessness Cont.
Hill has now launched a dedicated brand, SoloHaus, in response to growing demand for modular units to help the homeless.
Scaling Up Through Volumetric In response to this surging demand for an MMC solution for the homeless, we invested £750,000 to launch a new, dedicated MMC division, Volumetric Modular. In November 2020, we acquired a second factory and Volumetric Modular now operates out of two facilities strategically located in Telford and Shrewsbury. In addition to the production of homes for the homeless, the factories will also manufacture optimised modules, including sales and marketing suites, bathrooms/shower pods and prefabricated utility cupboards, increasing supply for our residential supply chain.
The SoloHaus Solution Foundation 200 shone a light on the wider need for an answer to the UK-wide homelessness crisis. However, it became clear that the problem was not going to be solved through philanthropic activities alone. In light of Covid-19, the government has made funding available to local authorities to invest in housing their homeless populations. We were able to take what we had learnt and quickly upscale to offer a product to meet this need – SoloHaus is our solution. SoloHaus homes, based on our latest MMC modular designs, are available for councils and local authorities to purchase at cost, providing innovative interim accommodation. Based on extensive market research, and designed and developed by a specialist manufacturer of custom-built homeless solutions, our SoloHaus homes are a relocatable and robust one-person home offering high energy efficiency and quality. The units are fully equipped and futureproofed for Building Regulation changes, and arrive 100% complete and ready for simple site connection and commissioning.
Allia Homeless Home In addition to the homes delivered through Foundation 200, we sponsored the construction of one of six modular homes at a project led by Allia in partnership with Jimmy’s to provide homeless people with supported housing in Cambridge. The units were constructed off site at Waterbeach Barracks by the New Meaning Foundation, a charitable social enterprise which trains young, disadvantaged and formerly homeless people in modern methods of construction. The homes are designed to be installed at temporary sites and be available at low or no cost. They are now in place on their first site, given free of charge by Christ the Redeemer Church in Barnwell, Cambridge, and the first residents moved into their new homes in late 2020.
Factory Built The units are assembled and fitted out in one of our two factories and delivered to site in move in condition.
Social We donated £32k to support our partner Allia in providing homes for homeless people in Cambridge.
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20. Tackling Homelessness Cont. Prized Art A number of artists have become involved in supporting Foundation 200 which has resulted in the creation of a special art prize.
Foundation 200 Art Project Artist Eric Hewitson contributed to the Foundation 200 project by kindly offering to donate a selection of his artworks to go on display in the homes. A smart home expert, Eric was keen to get more artists involved in the project. This prompted the creation of the Foundation 200 Art Prize project, through which we will choose an artist in residence for each new housing development. We are delighted that Ashley Baldwin-Smith has now agreed to donate a further six landscapes for the next Foundation 200 project in Cambridge.
Sarah, 21 said: “I had been renting a flat but when I lost my job, I couldn’t afford to pay the rent, so I ended up rough sleeping. It was really scary. The most important part of CTS for me is just having somewhere you feel safe. It’s not just a shelter. We’re like a real community.”
Christmas Giving Teams from across our sites made donations to charities involved with poverty and homelessness in the run up to Christmas.
Three of our employees are in training for the 2021 London Marathon and will be running to support Foundation 200 and the Salvation Army.
Fundraising Efforts
Helping Young People in Brighton
The Salvation Army will be involved in many of the Foundation 200 developments around the UK, so we want to support their efforts by raising funds towards ongoing maintenance costs. We have three runners – Stacey Sargeant, Faye Wright and Matthew Bricknell – participating in the 2021 London Marathon to raise money for this cause.
The Clock Tower Sanctuary (CTS) is the only drop-in day centre in Brighton and Hove for young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or insecurely housed. In 2020, Hill together with Stonewater, Owen Contractors and HGH Groundwater, raised £10,000 to help the centre provide crucial support for Brighton’s homeless population throughout the winter months.
For our Christmas charity collections, teams from across our sites and offices made donations to local charities involved in the support of people affected by poverty and homelessness. These included: The Gatehouse, Crawley Open House, Epping Forest Foodbank, Jimmy’s Cambridge, Wintercomfort for the Homeless, CHESS Homeless, Whitechapel Mission, Harrow Foodbank and the Clock Tower Sanctuary. Thank you to all the volunteers and staff at these charities who work tirelessly to support those in need.
The mission of the CTS is that no young person becomes part of the long-term homeless population. The centre is a place where young people in crisis can access urgent support such as showers, washing machines, a hot meal and a place to feel safe. They also provide help in accessing local services and training, all of which helps them get back on their feet and closer to a secure home.
Stacey Sargeant, Customer Service Coordinator said: “I know people who have been affected by homelessness and the work Hill is doing together with the Salvation Army will not only help them in a practical sense, but also let them see that they are not invisible, and people do care."
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Going The Extra Mile
The Finishing Touches Artists Eric Hewitson (left) and Ashley Baldwin-Smith (right) with representatives of Hill and Jimmy’s and some of the donated artworks.
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The Orchards, Cambridge
Contact
Head Office The Power House Gunpowder Mill Powdermill Lane Waltham Abbey Essex EN9 1BN 020 8527 1400
Cambridge Office
Crawley Office
The Courtyard Abbey Barns Duxford Road Ickleton Cambridgeshire CB10 1SX 01223 792700
Westfield House Bonnetts Lane Crawley West Sussex RH11 0NY 01293 572260
Oxford Office
Suite 45 37 St Andrews Street Norwich Norfolk NR2 4TP
Suit A Windrush Court Abingdon Business Park Abingdon Oxfordshire OX14 1SY
Norfolk Office
Email jobs@hill.co.uk land@hill.co.uk sales@hill.co.uk info@hill.co.uk
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