Salix Homes Case Study | Northern Housing Consortium

Background and business case

Alexander Gardens was a redundant sheltered-housing scheme made up of 36 one-bed flats. After standing empty for three years, we secured £780,000 from Homes England, and invested £2million converting it into 26 high-quality one and two-bedroom fully-furnished apartments to provide affordable accommodation exclusively for NHS staff at our local hospital.

This former sheltered housing complex was devastated in the Boxing Day floods of 2015. Our aim was to bring this empty building back into use as desperately-needed affordable housing to help meet local housing need, while ensuring the new development was protected against future floods. Alexander Gardens is no ordinary housing development – it’s the first scheme of its kind in the region to provide affordable homes for NHS workers. On Boxing Day 2015, freak flooding devastated 400 homes in Broughton including Alexander Gardens.
We moved quickly to rehouse the elderly residents close-by, leaving behind an empty shell that we wanted to bring back into use in the best way that met local housing need.

Like many hospitals across the country, our local hospital Salford Royal was experiencing a recruitment crisis. With 200 vacancies it couldn’t fill, hospital chiefs cited the lack of affordable accommodation as a major barrier in their ability to both attract and retain key workers.
And this was our lightbulb moment. Alexander Gardens presented us with an opportunity to not only bring an empty building back into use as affordable housing, but also to help our wonderful NHS attract much-needed key workers into Salford, which benefits the whole community.

The site’s tragic history added to the challenge. The building needed an extensive refurb along with additional flood resilience measures including flood doors and barriers, drylining the internals, raising electric sockets, sealing airbricks and applying waterproof render, to help protect against future flooding. We’ve spent 12 months and £2million converting the building, partially funded through a £780,000 grant from Homes England, along with £90,000 from the NHS to fully furnish the apartments.
We’ve worked alongside our partner contractor A Connolly Ltd to create 26, ultra-modern one and two bedroom apartments.
Local suppliers have been used where possible and two apprentices have been recruited demonstrating added social value for the area.

As well as providing much-needed affordable housing for one of societies’ most valued professions, the development also represents significant value for money for both parties, at a time when funding is tight. For Salix Homes, the homes are being let as part of an employment package to new recruits and their families at an affordable rent of between £480-£560, providing a guaranteed income which can be reinvested into the business.

And for Salford Royal, notwithstanding the incalculable benefits of attracting and retaining skilled key workers, the project is reducing its reliance on costly agency staff. Alexander Gardens has opened the door for how health and housing can work together and in doing so, has transformed a derelict eyesore into affordable housing that will have untold benefits and value for the people of Salford for many years to come.

Partners involved

Salix Homes
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Homes England
A Connolly Ltd
Architect: Halliday Meecham

Programme Costs

Total scheme costs: £2 million

Value of Affordable Homes Programme support for scheme: £780,000

£90,000 from the NHS to fully furnish the apartments.

Scheme size – 26 units

Tenure split – Affordable Rent – 26

The homes are being let as part of an employment package to new recruits and their families at an affordable rent of between £480-£560

Outcomes

Among the first residents to move in was nurse Abhik Jacob and his partner Pretty Mary Zachariah. The pair emigrated from India four years ago and had been working at a London hospital before relocating to Salford after securing jobs at Salford Royal. Abhik, who has recently started work in Salford Royal’s Emergency Assessment Unit, said: “Finding somewhere affordable to live close to where you work is very difficult, so Alexander Gardens is perfect for us and has made the stress of relocating much easier. We’re enjoying getting to know the area and it’s great that my commute to the hospital only takes 15 minutes on the bus.”

The development was officially opened to huge fanfare in December 2018, by Sir David Dalton, chief executive of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. Within less than two months the development was fully occupied – and the waiting list continues to grow, with residents echoing the sentiment of Abhik, who would have struggled to accept their job offers at the hospital without Alexander Gardens.
Speaking at the launch, Sir David Dalton said: “18 years ago when I first started at Salford Royal, Government policy was to then dispose of NHS accommodation, so here we are almost 20 years later seeing that we can open new accommodation for our workers, and I hope this is the first of a number of units that we will see the NHS delivering in partnership with housing associations like Salix Homes.”

Lessons learnt

The crucial lesson learnt is the importance of the health and housing sectors working together for a common goal. The crisis’ facing both services are well-documented, but Alexander Gardens is testimony to the importance of working in partnership to overcome some of these critical issues. Last year, the NHS turned 70, but sadly its future has never been in so much doubt: stretched, under-funded and unable to attract enough recruits, but we have proved the housing sector can help, and we’re proud to be helping our NHS to continue its fantastic work for another 70 years and beyond.

The project is already capturing the imagination of the wider sector, with the launch receiving over 8,000 impressions on Twitter and being featured by high-profile media-outlets including ITV. Furthermore, both ourselves and Salford Royal have been approached from housing providers and hospital trusts nationwide to share how this partnership can be mirrored elsewhere, with Alexander Gardens providing the blueprint for a sustainable model.

NHS boss Ian Moston added: “We are confident this venture with Salix Homes is the first of many initiatives where we believe we can collaborate to improve the health and wellbeing of people living and working in our communities.”

Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “This partnership with the NHS, supported by funding from the Affordable Homes Programme, presented an opportunity for us to not only bring an empty building back in to use and create desperately needed homes, but also to help our local hospital attract much-needed key workers into Salford, which benefits the whole community. “It’s no secret that the country is in the grips of a housing crisis, but it really brings it home when our own local hospital cannot recruit staff due to a severe shortage of suitable and affordable accommodation. “At a time when our wonderful NHS has turned 70, we are very proud to be able to offer a solution to provide affordable accommodation for doctors, nurses and other health professionals and help ensure our NHS can continue the fantastic work it does for another 70 years and beyond. “We believe this project to be among the first of its kind in the country and shows the importance of the health and housing industries working together to help overcome some of the most critical issues facing our sectors.”

Resident Abhik Jacob said: “We wanted to relocate to this area as we have family nearby in Bolton and the cost of living is more affordable than in London. “Finding somewhere affordable to live close to where you work is very difficult, so Alexander Gardens is perfect for us and has made the stress of relocating much easier. We’re enjoying getting to know the area and it’s great that my commute to the hospital only takes 15 minutes on the bus.”

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett added: “Affordable rented accommodation is crucial for attracting key workers to the city and helping them to build homes and lives here. “This development shows the power of our strong partnerships here in Salford and brings an empty site back into productive use. I’m delighted to see this and I wish everyone who lives here a very happy residency.”

Future plans

Both ourselves and Salford Royal have been approached from housing providers and hospital trusts nationwide to share how this partnership can be mirrored elsewhere, with Alexander Gardens providing the blueprint for a sustainable model.