INTERVIEW
Gold standard: Futures Housing strives for excellence in everything it does “Similarly, I remember one of my former chairmen once
telling me that you should always try to build homes fit for your mother and ask yourself the question “What would I want my mum to live in?” I think there’s something in that – if you make it personal it keeps you grounded. It would be easy to just go and build homes that are lovely in their own right and regard that as a job well done. “However those houses then make a place, that place
has to function, and people in that place have good times, bad times and difficult times, like we all have. So trying to keep the tenancy and the community sustainable is really important to ensure they are good places to live because if they are, it unlocks so many benefits. “Children can focus on school, you get better health
results in the area, there’s the potential for better education outcomes, the list goes on – the bottom line is that if you have somewhere good, well designed and secure to live in then it provides a massive foundation for people to move forward in their lives.” And that bigger picture, argues Lindsey, then transcends individuals, families and communities to holistically have a hugely positive influence on the economy, business and the wider fabric of the country in general - creating something of a virtuous circle. “Investing in housing almost as an infrastructure brings
massive benefits to a local economy and then it almost takes on a life of its own. “I think all aspects of housing have a place in solving
what is undoubtedly a housing crisis, because we haven’t got enough homes nationally – there is increased homelessness and you can see that becoming ever-more prevalent, in our cities especially. “The Property industry – and social housing in particular
- is part and parcel of the infrastructure of regions, cities and rural areas – which can’t be forgotten and we have a lot of rural areas here in the East Midlands – so it has its place in the whole societal structure.” So is this crucial sector getting the attention it deserves
and needs? Lindsey believes the signs are encouraging, although a clear focus must remain on the overall objective. “It certainly feels now that Housing is further up the
agenda than it has been in a long time, which is fantastic, and we’re getting more investment into it as a direct result which can only be a good thing.
58 business network October 2019 “However it is always about delivery and making sure we
deliver the new homes that are clearly needed but equally ensuring we don’t lose sight of what really matters - providing good quality services to those already in existing homes and providing a positive route forward for those who are not.” While there is room for optimism moving forward and
significant activity being undertaken on the ground – evidenced by the work of Futures – these are caveated against challenges; some of which lie outside of the sector’s control. For Lindsey, it’s about being agile, fleet of foot and being adaptable to ensure the valuable work taking place is not undermined and, indeed, continues to flourish. “We’re regulated, which means we have limits on how
much we can borrow against our properties and we obviously have the market itself to consider, so if house and land prices start to rise dramatically we are affected by that and that limits how much we can respond to housing needs,” she explains. “About six years ago the Government made us reduce
our rents on a year-by-year basis, which meant we had to cut back on our investments - so we are exposed to market conditions. I think because we are regulated and have that social purpose we take the responsible view of where we invest, how we invest and how much we invest. We have to be mindful about exposing too much to the outright sales market because we need to protect our social assets. “There are other external factors. Brexit, for us, creates
potential issues around a shortage of labour, the impact generally on the housing market and the availability of suppliers’ materials and, of course, the general economy, which affects borrowing rates for investment. “Clearly we’re subject to the ebbs and flows of different
governments and local governments as to their policies around how much they want to build and how much they want to invest in social housing, for example, so it’s about progressing at a pace at which we feel comfortable in managing those risks and opportunities. “We have a reasonable appetite for growth and we are
reasonably moderate in our risk appetite as well, so we balance those two out. “Fundamentally, at the heart of it, it’s about how we
provide better services to people who live in the East Midlands, that’s really what we’re all about.”
‘It certainly feels now that Housing is further up the agenda than it has been in a long time, which is fantastic, and we’re getting more investment into it as a direct result’
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