North East housing association Bernicia will invest £210m into homes, estates and communities over the next four years as part of ambitious plans to support its tenants.
The investment will focus on building at least 600 new homes across the region, delivering major works to improve existing properties and neighbourhoods and helping people into work.
Tenants’ views have helped shape Bernicia’s new corporate strategy, which outlines how it will deliver its services at a time of major financial pressures on households.
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Over the next four years, Bernicia has pledged to invest £85m in new housing, deliver £63m of major maintenance works to improve existing homes and estates, spend £61m on day-to-day repairs and ensure more than 90% of its homes meet energy efficiency rating SAP C or above - five years ahead of a Government target.
The housing association has also pledged an additional £2m to help local people into employment by creating a new employability team to work with regional businesses to deliver more apprenticeships and placements, and help young people get work ready skills.
Measures to help tenants tackle fuel poverty - such as the installation of more efficient heating systems, insulation, solar panels and air source heat pumps - will also be introduced.
John Johnston, Bernicia chief executive, said: “Over the next four years, we will put our human and financial resources to work, using our skills to release more capacity to support our tenants, customers and communities at a time when arguably they need it most.
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“The North East is where our tenants and communities live, where our financial strength has been generated, and where the company has always been based – and we want to use our strength to help it grow.
“We are pledging significant extra resources to support financial inclusion, building aspiration and increasing confidence - providing training, skills and job opportunities people deserve.
“We are more than just a landlord. We are an anchor institution for communities, and we will continue to work with partners to help deliver ambitious plans for the North East.”
Bernicia’s strategy also aims to create £15m of added social value, partly by channelling the profits of its commercial arms Kingston, a block and estate management and landscaping specialist, and estate agent Living Spaces, back into supporting tenants and the communities they live in.
Bernicia owns and manages 14,000 properties, employs more than 550 staff across the North East and has an annual turnover of £90m.