Category Archives: Hampshire

Hampshire, News, Property

Dragon Court celebrates final chapter with conversion of retail space into much needed high-quality homes

Local independent housing association, PHA Homes, in partnership with leading property developer, Jansons Property, is pleased to announce the completion of five brand new high-quality homes at the Dragon Court development in the heart of Petersfield, Hampshire.

Dragon Court is the result of five years of planning, development and construction plus careful consideration of local requirements including the increasing demand for homes which are energy efficient, built to a high standard, and are in keeping with the town centre. This £4 million project first broke ground in Autumn 2020 and construction progressed steadily over the past three years. In 2023, the final chapter of the development involved a change of use on the ground floor from retail space to residential.

 

Andy Jansons, Managing Director of Jansons Property, explained; “The pandemic brought many changes to Petersfield along with the rest of the country. One major change was the reduction in demand for physical retail space with the shift to online shopping. Consequently, we needed to rethink the retail space originally included in this development. So, with the ever-increasing need for high quality, sustainable homes in the region, it made absolute sense to apply for a change of use post pandemic from retail to residential.”

The development was financed through a combination of public funding and private investment.

 

“We are thrilled to officially welcome the new residents of Dragon Court,” said Linda Wallace, Chief Executive of PHA Homes. “This joint initiative demonstrates our commitment to providing energy efficient, affordable housing so more in our community have the opportunity to thrive.”

 

The accommodation provides a mix of one and two bedroom apartments, with an open kitchen and living area, and easy access to the town centre. A public space featuring the town fishpond and an original mosaic are also located on site. “Housing which meets the needs of local people is essential for building strong, equitable communities,” commented Andy Jansons, Managing Director of Jansons Property. “Like PHA Homes we’re delighted to complete this impressive development that will allow more people to establish roots and grow.”

 

Jansons Property is a property developer and investor founded in 2003 that delivers high quality, energy efficient homes which are built to stand the test of time and complement their surrounding areas. Dragon Court was created in partnership with local government, businesses and community partners including PHA Homes.

 

Jansons Property also worked solely with local firms to complete the development and acknowledge the excellent contribution from local project manager, Boulter Mossman and Portsmouth-based contractors, PMC.

 

Broadband, Hampshire, News, Telecoms

23 year old kicked out of school starts UK green broadband provider – and it’s thriving in more ways than one

ADHD sufferer Luke Chapman is thriving now, having set up Earth Broadband, the UK’s first green broadband provider, at the tender ago of 23.  Luke’s company is getting rave reviews from customers, and praise for the way his company gives back to environmental projects.   However, life hasn’t always been that way.

Luke, from Ringwood, Hampshire is hoping that his success will inspire others who are differently abled.  Luke explains:

“If I rewind to before I founded Earth, I was kicked out of school and felt like I failed. I found it extremely difficult to focus in lessons and was diagnosed with ADHD at 16.

“However, looking at things with a different focus can be a real advantage.  I noticed that the UK’s broadband industry is broken. Pricing is unfair and unclear, customer service is non-existent, and annual price hikes are crazy – and I decided to do something about it.

“I launched Earth Broadband in 2022 with a clear vision, to change the internet for good, with the goal of creating a new broadband service that truly puts customers first and uses their money for good.”

So far, the company has been a roaring success, with the company getting as much praise for it’s approach to funding environmental projects as for it’s highly rated broadband service.

CEO Luke explains:

“Our broadband service receives rave reviews, but I didn’t just want to succeed in business – I wanted to make a difference to the planet.  That’s why, every month, Earth customers plant trees, remove plastic from our oceans, and restore wildlife habitats, creating jobs and helping mitigate climate change.

“We aim to plant 500,000 trees per month and remove 100,000 pounds of plastic by 2025.

“We’ve received a fantastic response from our customers so far, and we can’t wait to shape the future of broadband as well as keep making a difference.”

Not bad for a young man who was kicked out of school.

Luke says:

“There are lots of students sitting exams right now who may not get the grades they wanted.

“We can’t all be good academically, but everyone can make a difference.”

“Whether you’re a grade-A student or someone like me who didn’t do too well at school, I hope my story empowers you – and proves that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. ”

 

Finance and Banking, Hampshire, News, Social Housing, South East England News

SASC invests second loan of £3.3m in One Small Thing to support pioneering project for women affected by the justice system

One Small Thing (OST), a charity dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system for women and their children, has received a second social investment loan of £3.3m from Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC).

The loan, from SASC’s Social and Sustainable Housing fund (SASH), will enable the charity to purchase and refurbish six properties in Southampton and Portsmouth, providing supported accommodation for up to 40 women involved in the criminal justice system in Hampshire, as part of its Hope Street project.

 

Hope Street is a pioneering residential community in Southampton, which will house up to 124 women and their children from spring 2023. This will prevent women receiving custodial sentences just because this is the only option available.

At Hope Street, women can meet the requirements of a community sentence in a safe, calm, and nurturing environment, where their children can live with them and they can access therapy, treatment and support. It will also help them access training and employment and make new links into the local community.

SASC’s first investment in OST was a £380k loan from its Community and Investment Fund, which funded five self-contained flats at Hope Street, as well as a large restorative outdoor space.

This latest investment will add further move on accommodation and marks the next phase of the charity’s vision for redesigning the justice system for women and their children in a way that can be replicated and scaled across the UK.

OST was founded in 2018 and is led by an inspirational philanthropist and tireless prison reformer Lady Edwina Grosvenor[i]. With a degree in criminology, Lady Edwina has devoted her 23-year career to prison reform. Hope Street aligns with the thinking behind the 2018 Female Offender Strategy[ii], which has a strong focus on community-based solutions.

 

Southampton was carefully selected as there are no prisons for women in Hampshire and Southampton is where a third of offences in Hampshire occur. Of the 877 women arrested in Hampshire between 1st November 2018 and 31st October 2019, 33% were from Southampton.

 

Women from Southampton who receive a custodial sentence are sent out of area, often more than 60 miles away from their home, making it very difficult for families to visit[iii].

 

Claire Hubbertsey, Chief Executive of One Small Thing said, “Hope Street will be a restorative environment where women can thrive and access vital services, without the added trauma of being separated from their children. It is designed to become a centre of excellence that can be replicated across the UK. We’re grateful that SASC shares our vison and is committed to helping us achieve our goals.”

 

Ben Rick, Co-Founder and CEO of SASC said, “Since our first loan to One Small Thing we have been impressed with how this project has developed and wanted to extend our support so they can add further supported accommodation. The programme will positively impact the life outcomes for many women and their children and enable them to break out of the cycle of crime and deprivation, and transition to independent housing.”

 

As of September 2022, SASH was fully committed, having allocated £64.5m of invested capital to charities across the UK. The successor fund, SASH II was launched last autumn, to provide a continuity of funding to frontline providers.

The fund will support charitable organisations that deliver a combination of support and housing to move from renting existing housing stock to owning it. SASH II is open for fundraising and targeting £125m.

 

For more information on One Small Thing visit: www.onesmallthing.org.uk

For more information on SASC visit: www.socialandsustainable.com

[i] https://onesmallthing.org.uk/board-of-trustees/edwina-grosvenor

[ii] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/female-offender-strategy

[iii] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b2920c1a9e028ee9c2eb7b5/t/5f75dac80dd0c87c41a511e8/1601559241068/Hope+Street+Succesful+Planning+Application+statement+FINAL.pdf

Hampshire, Retirement

Retirement hotspots where renting can be a more affordable option in 2023

Retirement gives people the freedom to move somewhere they have always wanted to live and according to a new ‘best places to retire to’ list by Unbiased[i] – the counties of Suffolk and Essex top the list, followed by Sussex and the southwest counties of Dorset and Devon.

However, the list also highlights buying property in these hotspots can be expensive. For instance, retirees can expect to pay an average of £500,000 for a detached home in Essex because of its proximity to London and prices can be just as high in some of the other areas too.

A more affordable housing option is to rent in a retirement community according to Dominic Stead, Property Director at My Future Living, which can enable people to live in popular retirement hotspots without breaking the bank.

 

Dominic says, “Coastal locations in the south, and towns closer to the capital can mean high property prices. For people looking to relocate in retirement to such areas another option is to downsize and rent in a retirement community.

“Developments are often located in popular retirement areas and are usually right in the centre of all the action close to beaches, shops and restaurants. They are often near town centres and provide access to local amenities, allowing residents to make the most of their retirement years.

“Downsizing and renting in a retirement community is a growing in popularity as people realise the benefits including freeing up capital from the sale of a home, living in a sociable community where it’s easy to make friends and not having to worry about property maintenance.

“Factor in that most also come with assured ‘lifetime’ tenancies, which give the same security of tenure as property ownership as long as people stick to the terms of their agreement and it’s easy to see why people are choosing this housing option in later life.”

 

One couple who chose to rent in retirement are Robin and Valerie Greenfield. Retired actor Robin (67) and Valerie (64) have rented for six years and made the move to retirement community Waverley Court in Hampshire in March 2022. They couldn’t be happier.

 

Valerie says “It is everything we wanted. We were adamant we wanted to find a home which would enable us to grow old in, so we weren’t prisoners in a flat having to go up flights of stairs and we did not want to become a burden to our children. We are really happy to have found the perfect place which has ticked every box for us.”

 

Robin says: “Our apartment is cosy but still spacious and even though we have downsized from a two bedroom apartment to a one bedroom place, we did not need to get rid of lots of things. The apartment has lots of space and there’s a cupboard in the hallway which is like a tardis – it just never seems to get full.”

“We looked around a few properties but were immediately drawn to this one as it was ground floor with some outdoor space. We have a couple of chairs out and we enjoy sitting out on a summer’s evening in the lovely landscape gardens that surround us.”

 

Married for 37 years, Robin and Valerie they enjoy spending their free time together going to the theatre, doing quiz nights and attending murder mystery evenings.  They also enjoy the host of social activities on offer at the Waverley Court.

They both concluded that: “After 37 years of marriage, we couldn’t be happier together and we’ve now found the perfect place for the next 37 years of marriage.”

 

My Future Living currently has several properties available in retirement communities in Sussex and Essex, as well as on the south coast in Dorset and Devon.

There is a one bedroom apartment at Homeshore House in Seaford on the Sussex Downs close to shops and the seafront for £925 per calendar month.

In Essex there is a one bedroom apartment at East Haven, close to Clacton for £850 per calendar month or a one bedroom apartment in Homeweave House in Coggeshall, a small market town situated in the Essex countryside near Colchester for £895 per calendar month.

In Dorset there is a one bedroom apartment in Wellington Court in Westbourne, a bustling suburb of Bournemouth for £875 per calendar month or a one bedroom apartment in Homefarris House near the centre of Shaftesbury for £750 per calendar month.

And in Devon there is a one bedroom apartment in Homecourt House in Exeter a stone’s throw from all the amenities of the city for £795 per calendar month.

 

All these purpose built retirement developments have a 24-hour emergency call system in each apartment and an onsite manager on duty. They have shared lounges and gardens to socialise in, plus events and activities are organised that people can join in with if they wish.

To find out more about renting a home in a retirement development in 2023 visit: www.myfutureliving.co.uk

 

[i] https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/other/best-uk-places-to-retire-in-2022-ranked-is-where-you-live-on-the-list/ar-AA14UR3r?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=816cb356f2d94069b8fea0352366c737