68 PROPERTY


BUILDING UP ITS STRENGTH


The re-opening of sales offices on housing sites across Lancashire marked another small but welcome step along the county’s journey out of lockdown.


Housebuilders quickly adapted to new circumstances both in terms of their sales and construction practices as they looked to re-open the market and allow people to get moving again. And they remain bullish.


John Grime, managing director of Anwyl Homes Lancashire, says: “We’ve had good levels of enquiries during lockdown and taken a number of online reservations across our developments.


“We are however clearly delighted that we are now able to open our sales offices for appointments and it is pleasing to see that the level of enquiries coming through is good, with new reservations being taken.”


John says construction is progressing on site and he adds: “The materials supply chain seems strong and all of our sub-contractors are on board with the new processes we’ve introduced.


“In fact, the industry has really worked together to overcome the effects of this pandemic and everyone has been talking to one another which has really helped.”


In the longer term he says the businesses is still progressing with land deals and planning applications for new developments and he believes the demand remains.


Preston-based developer Kingswood Homes had three sites live in Lancashire and decided to halt construction the week before government ordered the total lockdown.


Managing director Paul Jones says: “It was impossible for the teams to work while safely distanced and our priority always has to be the safety, not just of our workers, but for residents living there.”


He says he used the ten weeks of lockdown to review the company strategy and drill down even further into what home buyers will want in the future.


“To be honest I think we were already in a pretty good place. All our developments are built around large areas of green communal space and the homes have generous gardens.


“This has proved to be crucial for people’s well-being during lockdown and will continue to be important.


“But it is deeper than that. How we use our homes has changed, probably forever, be it home-working or hobbies or multi-generational living and we have to respond to that.


“We are working on something very exciting that will help provide that individuality which we will be launching this summer and we think will transform the new build market.”


Kingswood’s sites in Blackburn, Scarisbrick and Forton are now back up and running and supplies of materials have not so far been an issue.


Paul adds: “We have continued to see a lot of buyer activity and I think people have been re- assessing their lives. Do they want to be closer to relatives, do they need a proper office so they can work from home, how can they accommodate the teenagers so everyone has a better quality of life?


“With summer holidays more or less cancelled for this year we expect that interest to continue as buyers switch from funding a two-week trip to investing for the long term.”


Georgia Bridge, sales executive at Blackpool- headquartered Create Homes, says: “During lockdown our sales function remained operational via remote working. We offered virtual tours and online viewings using Zoom and Teams calls which worked well.”


Since the middle of May, the business has offered face to face appointments across its developments by pre-booked appointment only.


She says: “We have implemented many safety protocols across all of our sites and sales offices. We have installed Perspex screens at our marketing suites. Hand sanitiser, masks and gloves are readily available, and we are implementing social distancing.


The industry has really worked together


to overcome the effects of this pandemic


“We have seen a steady increase in demand since lockdown with a lot of people now wanting to relocate to more rural areas.”


Michael Conlon, chairman at Preston-based Conlon Construction, says its residential sister company Conlon Living has also seen continued enquiries since lockdown measures were imposed.


He says: “This mirrors conversations with others in the residential sector who are experiencing similar trends.


“A property is still the biggest purchase of most people’s lives and those same drivers remain even during Covid-19; upsizing, downsizing, relocation, your first home and sadly – maybe more so in a global pandemic – divorce.”


He believes Conlon’s strategy of delivering smaller and more sustainable developments “that reflect localised housing needs” will pay off as the country emerges from the crisis.


And he adds: “The larger, volume-driven housebuilders may, however, need to discount their prices and offer greater added value incentives.


“This is likely to be the case, at least in the interim, as they work to decrease their portfolio of unsold properties. These measures may also influence land prices as developers face smaller returns due to discounting in certain sectors.”


The construction industry has also had to adapt to meet the challenges of coronavirus.


Jeremy Hartley, managing director of Preston- based Eric Wright Group, says that throughout the pandemic it has continued to work on the sites of its residential housebuilding arm Applethwaite.


He says: “We have been following Public Health England’s advice on social distancing and safe working, also reducing the number of people on site at any one time to ensure they can work as safely as possible.”


And he adds: “Technology is playing a huge part in maintaining progress while maintaining social distancing and we are pre-fabricating components to minimise the number of operatives needing to attend site.


“These are unprecedented times and we are all learning about Covid-19 and the best ways to prevent its spread within our workforce.


“Our clients and supply chain have been brilliant, we are all working to achieve the same goal, completing the works safely with the minimum amount of disruption.


“It’s amazing to see the results of the collaborative approach, if we continue as we are it all bodes well for the future of our industry.”


Michael Conlon agrees. He says: “As an industry, construction has always faced many health and safety hazards, so we were well versed in the mitigation of risks long before Covid-19. We are following excellent advice from a variety of government and industry bodies.


“Our new ways of working reinforce the importance of maintaining a physical distance apart to reduce the risk of transmission. There have been other mundane changes such as staggered break times and allowing personnel to eat lunch in their vehicles.


“It’s a credit to everyone that our site-based personnel have been so co-operative in adapting their normal working practices to keep each other safe.”


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