2023 Affordable Housing Awards winners

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Contractor of the year

Repairs team - Lewisham Homes

"Our judges said this project demonstrates what can be achieved when frontline staff are put in the driving seat. Their work has changed the culture of the organization and turned around a struggling service so that satisfaction levels have risen significantly"

Homebuilder of the year - housing association/local authority

Housing delivery team - Haringey Council

"The panel were particularly impressed by Haringey’s approach to resident engagement and sustainability as well as the steps they are taking to ensure their workforce represents the community they are working in, providing new opportunities to residents"

Homebuilder of the year - independent

Riverbank View - Keepmoat and Salford City Council

"What stood out to the judges was the emphasis on social value, partnership working and community engagement. These values were exemplified by the recruitment of a social value manager, a focus on local training and employment programmes, and hearing first hand from a community champion about what the project means locally"

Professional services partner of the year

Voicescape

"Our judges described this as a strong example of collaborating with tenants and customers to deliver better outcomes, including using AI and machine learning to drive a reduction in arrears"

Campaign of the year

Homelessness in the Countryside: A Hidden Crisis and the launch of the Rural Homelessness Counts Coalition - English Rural Housing Association

"Our judges were impressed by the public reach of this ongoing campaign which engaged universities in its research. They praised it for concentrating first on the most visible issue of rough sleeping in rural areas and then moving on to the more general problem of homelessness in the countryside"

Innovator of the year - housing association/local authority

Open Market Purchase Scheme - North Lanarkshire Council

"Our judges found that this innovation could have an invaluable impact on people’s lives, aspirations, education attainment and employability while also achieving direct savings in social care and temporary accommodation costs"

Innovator of the year - independent

John Southworth

"Not only did this team work together to pioneer new and fresh ideas to meet the challenge of building sustainable homes within the cost envelope they are now also actively helping others to follow in their innovative footsteps"

Resident employment and training award

Livin Futures - Livin Housing

"Our judges unanimously agreed that this was a stand-out submission because of the longevity of the project, which has now been running for 13 years, and the sheer number of people who have benefited from the service over the last 12 months"

The neighbourhood transformation award

All In - Eastlight Community Homes

"Our judges felt that this was a brave, radical and innovative project that might easily have been dismissed by less forward-thinking organisations. Led by tenants and residents, it clearly focussed on delivering projects and creative ideas developed from the grassroots"

Homelessness project of the year

Bromley homeless support and health project - Bromley Homeless

"Our judges consider this to be an inspiring example of the benefits of a place-based approach and of bringing health to the heart of homelessness interventions. They were impressed at how this smaller service showcases excellent partnership working; a strong commitment to using evidence and data to improve outcomes and demonstrates real impact with people who are facing serious challenges"

Best older people’s landlord

Alpha Living

"Alpha Living’s service for older people most impressed the judges because of its compassion. Alpha's values do not just exist on paper but clearly sit at the heart of the way they serve their residents, providing the best possible environment for people to grow old in"

Best supported housing landlord

Southdown

"Our judges were impressed at how this entry provided a psychological environment throughout the organisation, both for customers and staff, and displayed great partnership working that is influencing communities and customers positively. They say – watch this space to see what Southdown can achieve in the future!"

Recruitment or retention campaign of the year

LHP recruitment campaign - Lincolnshire Housing Partnership

"Our judges felt that Lincolnshire Housing Partnership had really moved the dial by putting a personal approach first. This includes having named ambassadors for schools and colleges in their area of operation and approaching embassies to look at new ways of promoting the sector to the wider community"

Excellence in community-led decision making

Tenant and Landlord Improvement Panel and Tenant Charter - Wokingham Borough Council

"Our judges found that this project illustrated key elements of excellent community-led decision making; clear and meaningful involvement from tenants, demonstrable commitment from the Council, real partnership working and collaboration as well as practical and lasting benefits for local people"

Financial inclusion initiative of the year

Choice Tenant Support Fund - Choice Housing

"Our judges were blown away by Choice Ireland's comprehensive and inclusive activities designed to help their tenants through the cost-of-living crisis. Their determination to reach as many people as possible, and at pace, is inspirational"

Partnership of the year - delivering for communities

Blackpool Coastal Housing and Left Coast

"Our judges said it was great to see local community skills being used to make these highly original projects a success. With tightening budgets it’s fantastic to see that this type of innovation continues to be funded to offer opportunities to some of the country’s most deprived and in need communities"

Partnership of the year - development

Lar Housing Trust and Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership

"This was a fantastic partnership, and the spirit of collaboration shone through. What particularly impressed our judges was the commitment and dedication to make a real difference to the lives of the tenants not solely by providing somewhere to live but also by enhancing their lives"

Partnership of the year - zero carbon

Lune Walk – affordable Passivhaus - South Lakes Housing, Lune Valley Community Land Trust and Lancaster City Council

"The judges liked the bottom-up approach of the community land trust’s ambition as well as the alignment of values in the partnership. This was a fantastic example of a council and a housing association playing their parts well to deliver on community aspirations for high quality, sustainable, affordable homes for local people in their village"

Council or combined authority of the year

Stevenage Borough Council

"Our judges were impressed by this programme which uses factory-built eco-pod units to provide safe self-contained homes for the local street homeless. The project also provides a green space outside to enable community connection. Not only did the team take ownership of the project they also did not shy away from difficult conversations to enable continued support of the wider community"

Landlord of the year

Stockport Homes Group

"Customer involvement and empowerment is woven throughout Stockport Homes Group. Their tenant told us ‘if you have a voice and you are a tenant you WILL be listened to’ and their financial inclusion measures have reduced arrears. With top quartile performance, a strong development programme and external accreditation Stockport is also now in a great position to influence the sector to do better things"

Testimonials

"It's a great networking opportunity for everyone, and a great way to share ideas and find out what everyone else is doing"

Richard Petty, head of UK living, JLL

"It gives us recognition that what we're actually doing makes a difference"

Manifest Software Solutions

"It's the biggest housing awards in the whole housing industry so it's nice to be recognised and celebrated"

Blend Network

"It gives smaller organisations recognition for the work that we do that does go unnoticed sometimes"

Poplar HARCA

"The UK Housing Awards are unique because they show the art of the possible in housing"

Grainia Long, chief executive, Northern Ireland Housing Executive

"The UK Housing Awards give you the opportunity to recognise your team - those people working so hard delivering services everyday"

Sue Shirt, executive director (customer experience), Stonewater