For the past 30 years Lovell has been providing housing services and solutions for people in South Wales. During this time the company has expanded its services significantly and today delivers new-build housing and mixed-tenure regeneration schemes, planned refurbishment and repairs and maintenance services. Operating from its South Wales office in Cardiff, the company is set for further growth in the region in 2013.
Lovell combines strong local roots and knowledge with an approach built on innovation, collaborative working and the delivery of excellent service. Equally important is the company’s determination to help communities transform themselves and to leave them with a lasting legacy of benefits – not just through the process of physical regeneration but by the creation of new jobs and training for local people, as well as providing support for local groups and organisations.
Planned maintenance
The company’s strong track record in planned refurbishment saw Lovell appointed by Vale of Glamorgan Council as one of the contractor partners for a large-scale housing improvement programmes to bring all its council homes up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard. Lovell was selected to refurbish homes in the Western Vale and rural areas, beginning work in September 2012 on this major refurbishment scheme, delivering improvements including the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, rewiring and the installation of new heating systems, windows, doors and roofs.
Alongside the improvements to its housing stock, Lovell is working closely with the Council to support targeted recruitment, training and community investment initiatives. The new contract already has seen Lovell recruit six new members of staff to work on the project, and develop a supply chain within a 20-mile radius of Barry which has
created a further 25 jobs for the local community. The company has also opened new offices at the Vale Business Park in Llandow.
\’Our team in South Wales has impressive technical expertise across new-build housing development and now planned and responsive maintenances but more than this, we are driven by our genuine desire to help communities grow and prosper.\’
Lovell regional director David Gough
Repairs and maintenance
The company has considerably extended its repairs and maintenance capability over the past three years. In South Wales, major business gains during 2012 included being selected by housing association Grŵp Gwalia for a four-year repairs contract. The company has also begun working with Cardiff Community Housing Association (CCHA) which has appointed Lovell to provide reactive building repairs and electrical maintenance services for 2,650 homes.
The four-year contract, worth £5 million in total turnover, involves the
Lovell team delivering reactive building maintenance and repair services to the
building fabric, drainage and electrical installations of occupied and void homes owned by the housing association.
Lovell apprenticeship programme
Lovell is providing training placements for
three local apprentices – two plumbers
and a carpenter – who are working as part
of the contract team. They are among the
latest recruits to a thriving apprenticeship
programme which has provided training
for 45 craft apprentices in South Wales
over the past 30 years. Many now work
for contractors in the Lovell supply chain
or have moved into site management.
Lovell has also employed more than 20
undergraduates who have completed
degrees while working for the company.
New-build development
Lovell is delivering sustainable mixed
tenure housing schemes across South
Wales drawing on its considerable expertise
in new-build development to create highquality
new affordable homes alongside
properties for sale. In Monmouth, Lovell is
working with Bristol Charities – trustee of
the 400-year-old William Jones’s Almshouse
Charity – to develop state-of-the art new
almshouse accommodation, comprising
24 apartments, as well as ten luxury
homes which are for open market sale.
The stunning gated development in the
centre of the picturesque town has been
carefully designed to complement its
surroundings, incorporating features such as
wooden sash windows and a highly
attractive, traditional design, Lovell having
consulted closely with the local planning
authority and conservation officer in the
selection of the building materials.
In Caerphilly, the company is
demonstrating its housing regeneration
expertise working in partnership with
United Welsh to deliver a £9.6 million
redevelopment scheme for the historic
former Caerphilly Miners’ Hospital site which
will create much-needed new affordable
housing locally as well as
homes for sale.
The redevelopment of this important site
has been shaped in close consultation with
the local community and will create The
Beeches Village: 82 new two-, three- and
four-bedroom homes at the former hospital
site in Caerphilly in addition to new green
spaces and public areas. This will include
40 homes offered through a range of rental
options; 20 homes for low-cost home
ownership and 22 properties for sale by
Lovell on the open market.
Other mixed tenure schemes in the region
include the Maes Halley, Parc Dewi Sant
development at Brecon where Lovell is
creating 69 homes, 53 for open market sale
and 16 for intermediate rent through Wales &
West Housing Association. The development
is on a visually prominent site in the heart of
the Brecon Beacons National Park with the
design solution developed to be sympathetic
to the immediate surroundings and the town
of Brecon. Traditional materials, including
natural local stone, have been incorporated
into the scheme where the new homes are
attracting strong interest from buyers. As
part of its proactive approach to community
involvement, Lovell has worked with a range
of local organisations including providing
a primary school with new car park safety
signs designed by pupils who entered a
competition organised by the company.
Lovell also teamed up with its suppliers to
help Brecon Sports Association refurbish a
run-down sports pavilion.
First-time buyers
The company’s most recent new-build
schemes in South Wales include a brandnew
88-home development at Bryn Celyn,
Llanharry, on the edge of the Vale of
Glamorgan. In addition to creating open
market homes, Lovell is working in
partnership with Rhondda Cynon Taf County
Borough Council, to offer a number of twobedroom
properties at the development
through the Homestep Retained Equity
Scheme. This low-cost home ownership
initiative enables qualifying first-time buyers
to buy at 75 per cent of the open market
price.
The company’s success in building
open-market homes has been recognised
by plaudits from both customers and the
industry. In 2012, it was revealed that
for the third consecutive year, Lovell had
received the maximum five-star rating from
homebuyers in the HBF (Home Builders
Federation) national Customer Satisfaction
Survey. In addition, a separate survey by Inhouse
Research found that 100 per cent of
Lovell homebuyers surveyed in South Wales
would recommend the company leading to a
Gold customer satisfaction award.
To find out more about Lovell in South
Wales, or to discuss working with the
company, please contact Business
Development Manager, Gemma Davies
on 02920 811888 or visit www.lovell.co.uk