with Hope springs
The Hope Challenge is just one of
the good causes that the house- building industry supports. KEITH OSBORNE reports.
landbank swell in a giant conspiracy to feed its balance sheet – is a popular media archetype, but there’s little coverage in the press of the considerable work undertaken by housebuilders around the country outside the business of constructing homes. It’s easy for a developer to say it is “creating a community” but it’s clear from speaking to developers on site, and from my burgeoning inbox, that there’s a hell of a lot of work being done to back up those words with deeds. Though many larger developments require the construction of community amenities, whether that be in the form of transport links, new schools or health centres or the provision of leisure facilities, there’s also a lot of work on a smaller scale that housebuilders are doing that really helps to cement relations with new residents and existing neighbours. Whether it’s providing a new kit for a school football team, funding a street party, offering work experience to students or donating to charity, many housebuilders go well beyond contractual obligations to build a bond within the areas where they are working and for good causes in general. Notably, Persimmon gave away a £250,000 house to the Harley Staples Cancer Trust last year. We were also delighted that our guests donated some £10,000 at the What House? Awards Gala Luncheon last year for the Cancer Care Appeal at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The staff of
WhatHouse.co.uk and Show House are equally delighted to be taking part in the Hope Challenge this year, organised by housebuilders’ charity Habitat for Humanity. The organisation works to improve and build homes in the UK and
T
he greedy developer, voraciously consuming every inch of available land building houses – or worse, not building houses, merely watching its
overseas and the situation of the people they help certainly puts the gnashing of teeth as house prices fall 0.2% in a month in perspective. We’re media sponsors of the event and have corralled six volunteers to participate at the 48- hour Hope Challenge taking place in the Peak District. The main aim is to build a shelter from scratch which will be our home for two nights: we need to bring and take home all our materials and can’t use a purpose-made tent. This humble structure will be subject to a number of tests and judged accordingly. There are also other tasks to face, such as a 13-mile hike. We have so far secured one supplier for our temporary home and are very grateful to ACTIS for its support and provision of some insulated and waterproof materials, which knowing the British weather will be most necessary on the
first weekend in July. Do please
contact me (
ko@whathouse.co.uk) if you’d like to support our cause with some materials that we could also utilise. If you’re also participating it would be good to hear from you too. In terms of our training for the hike, some of us have been out and about on some walks in the Home Counties in an attempt to get fit for the gruelling trek facing us in Derbyshire.
Whathouse.co.uk assistant editor Laurna Robertson (above) and I made it to the highest point in the South Downs (Black Down in West Sussex) on a particularly gorgeous April afternoon. This being a Globespan Media expedition, our eight-mile trip involved an hour or two devoted to
Many housebuilders go well beyond contractual obligations to build a bond within the areas where they are working and for good causes in general
David Grover, chief operating officer at Mace, with Richard Blakeway, deputy mayor for housing, land and property
the social side of the industry and we’re hoping that the canteen and Drunken Hammer bar that the organisers will be setting up at the Hope Challenge will match the conviviality of the Red Lion in Fernhurst. If they could put in a good word on the weather front too, that would be appreciated by all I’m sure. Away from our jaunts across the countryside, we’ve been clocking up a few miles on the road too. As I write, Laurna’s up in Edinburgh as part of a whirlwind trip to Scotland to see a number of housebuilders and sites in the Central Belt. Not content with that, she’s stopping off in Blackpool on the way back to conduct another site visit and interview. All part of our plan to get out and about beyond the Home Counties. I was invited to see the launch of Greenwich Square, London, the first development from new partnership Hadley Mace. The former hospital site on which it’s taking shape has been derelict for some years and there was a real sense of enthusiasm and urgency from all the stakeholders in this 645-home project. The plans are exciting and I’m sure the interactive marketing suite and excellent show apartment will ensure a healthy start to sales on the first phase. I believe we’ll be finding out more about Hadley Mace in Show House in a couple of months’ time and the joint venture certainly has an impressive product to talk about.
sh showhouseMay 2013 | 19
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