Construction Industry News

REDROW MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UK

Countrywide Telecoms are sharing in this weeks’ news Redrow Homes’ annual report of their socio-economic footprint. This is the second year they have produced this report, and the figures show that in 2016/17, Redrow has invested £1.1bn in creating communities.

Below are some of the highlights from their work this year:

Building responsibly

Redrow Homes pay particular attention to the impact their developments will have on the local area and the wider environment during construction, and place a focus on the efficient use of materials, water and energy in our activities.

This year 99% of their timber was responsibly sourced, as they continue to promote responsible forest management, and their efforts were recognised by the WWF with the prestigious ‘Three Trees’ award. Redrow have also diverted 95% of our construction waste from landfill, and sourced 92% of materials and subcontractors locally, so that they add value to the local economies of the communities that they build in.

As well as minimising their environmental impact by building responsibly, they also contribute socially as well. As a housebuilder Redrow have a duty to do their part to help solve the housing crisis, and assist people onto the property ladder who wouldn’t otherwise be able to this without help. To that end, out of the 5,415 homes they built last year, 1,014 were affordable homes, and 1,882 were purchased through the Governments Help to Buy scheme.

Thriving communities

Redrow have also set themselves an ambitious goal to work towards achieving a biodiversity net gain on each of their developments, and so far have created Biodiversity Action Plans on 60% of sites.

These plans ensure that schemes fit sensitively with the local area with a wealth of diverse nature habitats. They have also introduced initiatives such as ‘hedgehog highways’, along with plans to boost the UK’s bumblebee population, to make sure we conserve the wildlife that inhabits the land we build on.

Redrow have developed 114 hectares of public space on their developments, and ensured that 95% of their homes are within 500 metres of a public transport link, investing £163m in facilities and infrastructure over the year.

All this ensures a place that fosters a sense of wellbeing among the people living there – and the broader community too, to bring people together and foster a real sense of pride in place.

Valuing people

In 2017 13,200 direct, indirect and induced jobs were created by Redrow. This equates to three jobs per every home we build.

Redrow also worked to inspire the next generation to build by running 6,800 training days for their own people in the last year, and 900 young people attended their employability master classes. This year they also welcomed another record intake of new trainees who will have the best possible start to their careers. These efforts have led to a 95% employee satisfaction rating from their staff.

Looking forward to 2018 – From Rob MacDiarmid, Group Sustainability Director.

By measuring the social, environmental and economic impact of our developments, we can use the data and information to make informed judgements that support the delivery of net positive solutions. We can then challenge the misconception that volume housebuilders are only in the business to churn out homes rather than building sustainable communities. We look ahead to 2018 in the belief that next year we see us doing even more to deliver new quality homes in places people want to live.

As always, we love to talk about our clients and the way they get involved with the community. Stay up to date with our news page at www.dev-ukconnect.thunderboltdev1.co.uk/news/ for more information concerning our partners.

Credit to Redrow Homes national news for news story.