Livv Housing Group put on a five-star performance at this year’s Northern Housing Awards as the Knowsley based housing association took home the trophies for five prestigious awards, including Landlord of the Year.
Now in its sixth year, the Northern Housing Awards took place on Thursday 23 May at The Point, Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.
The Awards shine a light on exceptional individuals and organisations who make it their mission to improve homes and communities across the north.
Livv’s successful Healthy Lifestyle Choices project was recognised as the Best Resident Support/Wellbeing Initiative.
Designed to promote physical and mental wellbeing as well as community connectivity, Livv collaborates with partners across Knowsley, each with their own expertise, assets and relationships to provide a comprehensive programme that meets the needs of individual customers. In the last cohort, 91% of participants reported an improvement in mental health. It is the results and impact on participants’ lives that sets this initiative apart.
Focused on local regeneration, Livv’s The Watchfactory Phase Two scheme in Prescot received the prize for Best Affordable Housing Development (£20m+).
The Watchfactory Phase Two is a stunning development of 191 new homes for affordable rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy. It wraps around the existing Grade II listed Watchfactory building that was redeveloped into Livv’s flagship Extra Care scheme in 2018. With apartments, houses and inspired living* bungalows, communal facilities and shared spaces, Livv is building an intergenerational community for the benefit of all.
As the UK aims for net zero by 2050, Livv picked up the award for Best Approach to Decarbonisation for its proactive agenda.
By using customer intelligence to prioritise improvements, Livv is on track to achieve EPC rating of C on all its customers’ homes by 2025. In the past year, it’s invested £5.2million to reduce carbon emissions through the installation of loft, wall and floor insulation, triple-glazed windows and solar PV systems. The Knowsley based housing association’s approach also involves building energy-efficient new homes and taking action to decarbonise its own estate – including the complete refurbishment of its head office.
On its road to net zero, Livv has been working with academics at Liverpool John Moore’s University to consider new technologies through the Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory.
Flutter Shutter, successfully piloted last year, offers energy savings equivalent to triple glazing, especially suitable for social housing retrofits. The pilot yielded valuable energy consumption data, showing potential savings of up to £235 per year for customers. The housing association is using this to inform future net zero carbon decisions.
It was this innovative collaboration between Livv and Flutter Shutter that was awarded Northern Housing Partnership of the Year.
Finally, Livv took home the highly coveted Landlord of the Year award.
Working beyond bricks and mortar, the 13,000 home, 28,000 customer landlord prioritises customers’ wellbeing. Through innovative partnerships, it showed judges how it addresses pressing challenges like the cost-of-living crisis, food and fuel poverty, and young people’s mental health to create positive impact and flourishing communities.
Commenting on the organisation’s award wins, Léann Hearne, Chief Executive of Livv Housing Group, said: “The Northern Housing Awards is a prominent event in the housing industry calendar, celebrating the pride of the sector across the north. To have been shortlisted in five categories was a tremendous honour, but taking home the trophy for every single one is an extraordinary achievement.
“Livv is more than just a housing business. We’ve got incredible people doing incredible things every day. They truly understand the communities that we work in and make it their mission to use all our resources and partnerships to make a real impact and change lives. It’s because of them that we stand out.
“Our corporate plan is all about ‘doing more’, and I’m so proud that the fantastic work we’re doing is receiving the recognition it deserves. It was truly a stellar five-star performance on the night!”
For more information about Livv Housing Group visit www.livvhousinggroup.com
*Older person’s shared ownership scheme