Aster builds record number of new homes in 2022/23

Aster Group delivered 1,312 new properties in its last financial year, its highest-ever total over 12 months, providing much needed new affordable homes for those who need them across the South of England and London.

In the year to the end of March 2023, the housing association built:

• 698 homes for affordable and social rent
• 466 shared ownership properties
• 17 for market rent
• 131 through its joint venture with Vistry Homes.

Nearly 400 (395) of these homes were delivered through Aster’s own land-led programme.

This year also marked Aster’s most productive year so far in the capital following its merger with London-based Central & Cecil Housing Trust (C&C), in January 2022.

Highlights included the opening of Grace House, a large-scale affordable apartment scheme for over 55s in St John’s Wood, and almost 800 (770) homes across Devon, Hampshire, Sussex, and Dorset.

This record-breaking year also included the transfer of a number of new homes to Wickham Community Land Trust (CLT). As the UK’s leading housing association provider of CLT partnerships, Aster has completed 13 schemes delivering 146 affordable homes to date.

Amanda Williams, chief investment officer at Aster Group, said: “Rising costs in all walks of life mean the need for affordable homes is more desperate than ever. Our customers, both new and existing, need us to tackle this problem head on. Being at the forefront of delivering new homes across a mix of tenures, including social and affordable rent and shared ownership, is a crucial aspect of achieving this.

“Our best-ever year is a great milestone, and we’ll have made a real difference to those needing an affordable option. Of course, this could not have been achieved without the hard-work and dedication of our colleagues across the business.

“With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to bite, our focus is on making sure we’re maintaining our diverse pipeline of new affordable homes across our regions and ultimately delivering excellent services to the customers living in them so they can live comfortably and with certainty, now and into the future.”

Looking ahead, Aster has a secured pipeline of over 4,000 homes set to be delivered by the end of 2025. This includes building approximately 300 homes a year through its Strategic Partnership with Homes England and a recent tie up with Persimmon Homes to deliver 300 affordable homes in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.  

The Group also has a significant number of homes already in construction through its land-led programme, including a community-focused, 100% affordable homes development within Dorchester’s Brewery Square complex in Dorset.  

Looking to the future, the housing association, which has an A+ credit rating from S&P Global, is embarking on £2.265bn investment plan to build over 10,000 new homes over the next seven years.