Dr Angela Brockbank
Dr Angela Brockbank is the Affordable Homes Director for Galliford Try, here she explains her mission to establish the business as a key contractor for Registered Providers and Local Authorities.
Q Can you tell us a bit about your career so far?
A I’ve been in the public sector for the last 20 years, first working in local authorities in economic development where I delivered large, complex regeneration schemes, from schools to retail, health, leisure and of course, housing.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to move to Thirteen Housing Group, one of the biggest Registered Providers (RPs) in the North East, as their Head of New Business and Growth. Housing has always been a passion for me, it’s such a fundamental social need and can provide the building blocks to a better life for individuals, families and communities.
Q What is at the heart of your plan for affordable housing?
A The need for affordable housing is a pressing national issue and the sector is looking for trusted partners who can deliver their affordable homes programmes, providing pace and quality. We need to offer solutions to the sector, be it around decarbonisation targets, addressing the Building Safety Act or working in partnership to get much needed schemes off the ground. Initially, we are concentrating on contracting through frameworks where we can use our expertise to deliver mid- to high-rise schemes in our towns and cities, moving on to a partnership approach - assembling developments and then taking them as opportunities to RPs - as our experience progresses.
Q What other adjacent markets do you think are open to us?
A There’s a lot of focus in the sector around retrofit and decarbonisation which is where I think there’s another huge opportunity for our business, with the adjacency to some of the work we already do. Additionally, fire protection and cladding remains a strong specialism for our business, where there is a need in the sector.
Also with housing schemes at scale comes the need for major infrastructure works, Homes England
alone has over 9,000 acres of land for housing that will require enabling works to open up the sites for affordable homes.
Q How excited are you by the possibilities for the affordable housing sector at Galliford Try?
A I am very excited about the possibilities for the business to deliver in this sector. The sector will contribute to our growth strategy and complements our focus on delivering social benefit by providing high-quality homes for the communities in which we operate. A focus for me will be getting out and about
to talk to potential partners, and to those consultants and land agents to identify the affordable homes opportunities. I am also keen to speak to as many colleagues as possible about our business plan, so that they can articulate this to their contacts, and so I can address any questions about the affordable homes
sector and our exciting ambitions.