Developing new homes
We have a significant and progressive development programme in the UK, driven by our Vision of everyone having the opportunity to have a place that they can call home.
The team work closely with various external partners such as Homes England, Local Authorities, developers and construction partners to deliver new Stonewater homes across a range of tenures to meet the challenges of the housing crisis in England, ensuring our homes are designed and constructed to enhance neighbourhoods and support prosperous communities.
We fulfil the regulatory requirement from Homes England to publish quarterly development spend reports.
With our focus on building affordable homes for rent or shared ownership, we placed in the Top 10 of Inside Housing’s Biggest Builders in 2024, out-performing bigger players in the sector.
We achieved a record year for Stonewater, completing 1,206 homes by the end of the 2023/24 financial year. We are also well placed to deliver new homes – with a pipeline of around 4,600 homes to be built, and firmly in the top 15 of Housing Associations in what we’re expecting to complete in 2024/25.
Rural housing
Stonewater is one of the largest developers of affordable housing in rural villages and market towns across the country, recognising that affordable housing in our rural communities drives investment, creates jobs and is vital to the long-term health of our county towns and villages.
Already, over-65s account for 23 per cent of rural populations compared with 17 per cent in urban centres. This figure is expected to rise to 50 per cent by 2039. Failure to deliver these affordable homes could see many of our rural areas ending up with no-one to run local shops, pubs and services.
We have formed partnerships to enable large scale delivery of rural homes such as our successful 25-year construction partnership with Winsley White, delivering 300 homes, and regularly deliver small pockets of much-needed rural affordable housing.
We own and manage around 7,000 rural homes.
Veterans housing
We work with veterans’ charity Alabaré alongside Local Authorities and construction partners to provide an innovative self-build scheme for veterans.
Stonewater recognises that transitioning from military life can be difficult for many veterans. These partnerships provide opportunities for ex-military personnel to work with contractors on site. Upon completion, each of the veterans involved in the builds has helped to build their own home to rent as well as gaining valuable, transferable skills and experience to support them in finding employment.
A number of the veterans involved in the scheme have even secured full-time employment following their success on the scheme.
Public art
At Stonewater, we believe that strong communities provide the social cement that holds places together and often defines their success.
Stonewater’s development team works closely within the local communities they are serving to commission artists who can create pieces of art that convey a distinctive narrative of place. These uncover histories and nuances of the area, and we have been displaying the work of local artists on our sites for over a decade.
We also run the Blunden Prize, a competition aiming to give talented artists from all over the country – both established and emerging – the chance to deliver a series of pieces that can sit proudly on our development schemes.