Homes England End of Year Statement
A statement from Homes England Chief Executive Nick Walkley on the end of the financial year 2019/2020.
“At this unusual and challenging time for us all, this week marked the end of the financial year.
Most of us haven’t faced a challenge like this in our lifetimes. Coronavirus is having a major impact on the sector, and everyone at Homes England understands that our partners are having to adjust and make difficult decisions about what is best for their business and their workforce.
Homes England will not rush to judgement about how we should respond. We will take the time to engage with and listen carefully to the sector and proactively seek input on the support it needs. More than ever, we need to come together and focus on getting through the challenges ahead of us.
Our ability to overcome difficulties as a sector has been hugely evident in the last few weeks. Thanks to the hard work, creativity and determination of our partners right across the industry, we have managed to do some significant business. Continuing to build a development pipeline becomes even more important at a time like this.
But at this year-end, more than any other, we should reflect with pride that it’s down to the work we do all year that thousands of families will have moved into properties with gardens that the kids are now playing in, elderly people will be living in accommodation that better suits their needs and others will have taken their first step onto the property ladder.
At Homes England we speak a lot about making homes happen but it’s moments like this that remind us that behind big announcements like bringing Sekisui House to the UK, securing planning for the next stage of Northstowe or funding the country’s biggest co-housing scheme we’re making a real difference in peoples’ lives.
It’s for this reason we’re still fully operational and determined to continue doing business. Despite the technological challenges of working remotely, we’ve had a strong end to the year and will continue to work with partners to support the Government’s housebuilding objectives and create the opportunities for the industry to thrive.
We’re keenly aware that our year end is very different to most of our partners in the sector. We are reaching out to partners across the industry to fully understand their needs to ensure we take the right steps. By working with and alongside the sector, we are determined to ensure that Homes England can support the market when this public health crisis recedes.”
Nick Walkley, Chief Executive, Homes England