Ten point plan has the potential to mark a pivotal moment for housing providers - Nicholas Harris

Nowhere is that more prominent for us, than across Yorkshire. We manage more than 1,200 homes across West Yorkshire alone and are developing several additional sites across the region, which will come to fruition in the coming months and years.

The housing landscape in Yorkshire reflects the broader challenges faced by the UK. With soaring demand for affordable housing, rising energy costs, and the crucial aspect of ecological sustainability, there's a clear need for a comprehensive strategy.

Our existing collaborations with local authorities, private partners and financial institutions have already paved the way for Stonewater to deliver affordable housing for local people in line with the government’s plans.

A distinctive feature of the government’s announcement is community engagement. In Yorkshire, we take this principle to heart. Recognising that housing extends beyond physical structures, Stonewater empowers local communities by involving them in every phase of development – from planning consultation, through to when the first customers move into their new home.

We also pride ourselves on engaging with local groups and organisations every step of the way, and our local development team members often get involved in community wellbeing and preservation events during the construction process.

We have recently concluded our second public art competition – the Blunden Prize – which invites artists from across the country to submit their ideas for public art to be installed at one of our key developments.

This year’s competition was centred around our Calverley Lane scheme, which is regenerating the old Leeds College Campus in Horsforth into a vibrant and thriving community of over 150 affordable homes.

Our winner, Holmfirth-based sculptor Patrick Walls, centred his idea around a series of community-led workshops that will help guide and develop ideas that will be incorporated into his final art piece.

This inclusive approach ensures that residents' voices are heard, resulting in homes that reflect the aspirations and needs of Yorkshire's diverse population. However, given the clear focus by the government on brownfield site regeneration, as well as the relaxing of planning rules for existing buildings, we must ask whether there will be much – or enough – uptake of this, as well as the additional funding required to meet desire and demand for customers.

Our recent experience of gaining approval on small brownfield sites within the region took almost two years to come through planning to get a decision – customers desperate for homes don’t have years to wait.

We were, however, pleased to see Leeds mentioned as one of the 20 city-centre renewals that fall as part of the plan, with specific mention of unlocking a mass transit system, providing better links within and between some of Yorkshire’s most vital towns and cities.

Yorkshire's varied landscape necessitates well-connected communities. Our collaborations with local authorities and transport networks echo this sentiment. By integrating housing projects with existing infrastructure, Stonewater contributes to the creation of neighbourhoods that are convenient, accessible, and self-sustaining.

Sustainability is a thread that weaves through every facet of the Ten Point Plan.

We are committed to providing homes that are energy efficient and are working towards government targets for carbon neutrality and believe in the importance of leaving a positive environmental legacy for our customers and future generations. Since our first environmental strategy was launched in 2019, we have already achieved significant improvements in performance and received some key recognition across the sector.

We’re passionate about incorporating sustainability measures across all of our developments – from the use of air and ground source heat pumps and installing cutting edge smart energy systems through to planting trees for every new home we build and providing electric vehicle chargers for our customers.

In Yorkshire particularly, we are dedicated to tying together our objectives with the government’s plan as well as the intricacies of the region in which we are working and providing valuable homes.

We want to continue to pave the way for a future where housing is accessible, sustainable and community-driven, and where a home isn’t just a structure but a catalyst for growth, comfort and security.

Nicholas Harris is CEO of Stonewater.