Reside Group Newsletter October 2020

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Planning - The Name of the Game for Successful Reside

Over the past few years, the Reside Group has really demonstrated just how adept it is at acquiring sites. The business is geared to be nimble with its decision making and futuristic with its search criteria; but land acquisition is just part of the development maze, as securing viable planning consents brings yet another set of hurdles to jump.

Andrew Munton Planning Director

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However, over recent times, it’s not just the normal, incredibly slow planning process that has locked sites, but also a raft of other issues, not least the latest hot potato which is ‘Nitrogen’.

At the end of 2018, there were several high profile cases in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), known as the Dutch Nitrogen cases, and there have since been several more cases that question how assessments are being undertaken to prove there will be no impact to habitat, based on scientific evidence.

In Hampshire, and around the Solent, there are a number of internationally designated nature sites, which are all protected by the Habitats Regulations, and it’s in this same area where the Reside Group has needed to work very hard to obtain planning consents.

During the lock-down period, the Reside Group completed on the sale of a site in Funtley, Hampshire to Vivid Homes, who will be taking the site forward now that Reside has gained planning consent for the development of 27 houses.

Planning Director, Andrew Munton commented, “It has taken a lot of hard work, patience and industry knowledge to overcome the Nitrogen Issues which affected the grant of planning consent on this site and many others in the region, in addition to the added complication of dealing with Highways England, regarding works to a pedestrian bridge over the M27. But it is thanks to our in-house skill sets that the business is able to tackle complex planning and technical matters such as these.”

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Planning consent gained for 105 homes at a site in Titchfield - which was also affected by the Nitrogen issues - to include affordable housing and open spaces. This site has also been sold to Vivid Homes.

Permission granted for seven chalet style properties on a site in Felbridge, West Sussex.

Consent achieved for a second site in Funtley for 55 units, which will include a new country park, and a second application has now been submitted to increase the number to 125 units, which is completely sustainable as it is supported by large areas of open space, a local shop and community hall.

A site in Eastergate, close to Fontwell Park Racecourse, with an application progressing for 42 homes to include affordable housing and open spaces.

Partridge Green – the Reside Group currently has an application running for 81 new homes.

You are invited to make contact with Steve O’Halloran if you would like to discuss unlocking your land’s financial potential – sohalloran@ residedevelopments.co.uk.

The Dutch House | 132-134 High Street | Dorking | Surrey RH4 1BG | t: 01306 877500 | e: enquiries@residedevelopments.co.uk | w: residedevelopments.co.uk

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Reside MDs, Richard West (left) and Brett Hamblin (right) with the Scouts

Going the Extra Mile for the ‘halow project’ Lending a unique twist to the 2020 London Marathon concept and wanting to help a local charity in challenging times, the Reside team, together with their families and friends, took part in the 2.6 Challenge – all at a safe distance of course!

There were some fabulous and very creative challenges: everything from running 2.6 miles, to baking, walking, cycling, a ping pong sound track and a Spaniel trying to get 26 balls out of a bucket of water! The lucky and well deserving beneficiary of the £935 raised by imaginations that ran riot, is the fabulous Guildford based ‘halow project’, which supports young people with learning difficulties.

Scouting for Success

A group of 50 volunteers from Reside and qualified trades, together with volunteers from Savills south east development team, spent two days successfully restoring and refurbishing a vandalised Scout hut in Lewes.

Reside wanted to help the 6th Lewes Scouts after their hut was vandalised in 2018, sustaining serious damage and forcing them into an almost nomadic existence. Reside MD, Brett Hamblin, led the project, which took place over two days and saw the volunteers fit a new kitchen with appliances, new WCs, create a sensory room, redecorate the hut throughout and transform the outdoor space – including the provision of a fire pit and mock amphitheatre. Brett applauded the team’s enthusiasm and tireless efforts to complete the challenge, and their humour along the way.

Local MP, Maria Caulfield, was guest of honour at the hand-over ceremony and unveiled the commemorative plaque, commenting: “I can see the project

has made big demands on both skills and time, and what has been achieved is commendable, heartening and an incredible and very generous display of kindness. This hut is such a special hut and your monumental DIY efforts will have such a positive and far-reaching impact on the lives of so many who now have a safe, polished and inclusive meeting place back again.” Young Scout, Tom Perry, also thanked the volunteers on behalf of the Scout Group: “We are so grateful and happy to have our hut back again – thank you to everyone.”

Reside would like to sincerely thank all those who donated to the project via JustGiving and also its loyal and committed suppliers who so generously gave their time to the project.

Luke’s Rapid Rise Luke Bargman was invited to join the Reside Group as Assistant Land Buyer late in 2018, following an impressive period of work experience shadowing Land Director, Steve O’Halloran. Just 20 months later, and having exchanged contracts on two sites, Luke has been promoted to Land Buyer.

Having met Luke whilst coaching the juniors at Cranleigh RFC, MD, Richard West, quickly became aware of his enthusiasm and dedication for the game and believed that the exacting skills learnt as a member of a rugby team could well be transferable to a professional career. Indeed, Luke’s commitment to Reside and his strong work ethic as Assistant Land Buyer meant that the Board was delighted to promote him to his new position within the Company, and confident that he will manage the growing levels of his new responsibilities with great aptitude. Congratulations Luke.

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Helping Local Sport Clubs Achieve Their Potential

Horsham FC in action

Horsham FC

Cranleigh RFC

Cranleigh 1st XV in their Reside shirts

Reside Director, Richard West, has always been passionate about rugby, both as a player for Esher RFC and, for many years, a coach for junior rugby at Cranleigh RFC, where he met and consequently employed Luke Bargman as part of the Reside team.

Continuing its close relationship with Cranleigh RFC, Reside Developments has agreed to sponsor the club; so, in addition to working with his former mentor and coach, Luke, who now plays for Cranleigh 1st XV, will be taking to the field in a shirt displaying his new employer’s logo!

The Reside Group is delighted to have played an essential role in gaining planning permission for the successful relocation of Horsham Football Club to its outstanding new home on the outskirts of the town, ensuring the Club is able to continue its 137 year standing at the heart of the local community.

Following an 18 month build programme, to create a contemporary clubhouse and two new all-weather 3G pitches, Reside Construction Director, Stuart Burne, handed the keys over to Horsham FC CEO, John Lines on 21st June 2019. Continuing its excellent relationship with the Club, Reside has agreed to sponsor their training kit and a Reside banner is displayed pitch-side.

Welcome On-Board It’s unusual in these rather strange times to hear of a company going on a recruitment drive, but due to their enviable reputation and increasing workload, the Reside Group has confirmed the employment of two new team members.

Fay Goodson – Senior Planner

Lucy Williamson – Administrator

The newest addition to the Reside team is Fay Goodson, who joins the company as Senior Planner and will work alongside Planning Director Andrew Munton. Fay studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Portsmouth, and previously worked for DMH Stallard and Nexus Planning. Fay currently lives in West Sussex and in her spare time enjoys dog walks, travelling and baking. Commenting on her new appointment, “I love a challenge, and working for a residential development company that is fast moving and incredibly proactive with land acquisition and planning will be a definite step-up in terms of pace and me being able to apply my diverse skill set”.

Lucy joined the thriving business earlier this year and is a valuable addition to the administrative team that supports the land and planning teams. After several years working in London, first in the hospitality industry and then in recruitment, Lucy decided to join her family in Tanzania, where she worked for a high-end tourism and conservation organisation. She later moved to South Africa, where her family bought a small holding which was run alongside a bed & breakfast business, before returning to the UK in 2014 to start a family. Lucy enjoys travel and days out exploring the area with her husband, son and dog in tow.

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2020 Surrey Property Awards Sadly, the 2020 Surrey Property Awards, of which Reside was a sponsor, has been cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. The Awards evening is by far the most well attended, entertaining and professional event within the region and will be greatly missed by so many this year. Reside has however, pledged its sponsorship support for next year and looks forward to meeting many friends and colleagues on November 25th 2021.

Let’s look forward to more sociable times, when we can enjoy networking, unity and all aspects of the industry for which we work so hard.

Back to the Office The spring and summer of 2020 will not easily be forgotten. Like many businesses during this time, the safety of our employees and clients was at the forefront of our minds when deciding on a date to return to the office. Having worked hard to ensure all the appropriate Covid changes were made to our newly refurbished and extended office, we were absolutely delighted to welcome back the full Reside team on 7th September. The plentiful summer sunshine has certainly energised us all and our land and planning teams in particular are busier than ever. We never actually closed the doors for business, but now more than ever, Reside Developments is well and truly open for business. We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you in person - very soon.

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The Deputy Mayor of Guildford, Cllr Marsha Moseley with Ian Randall, Brett Hamblin and celebrity speaker, Gyles Brandreth (from left to right)

Double Success at The Surrey Property Awards It was an evening of huge celebration for Reside Developments, which is part of the Reside Group, at the 2019 Surrey Property Awards, when its Frith Park Development was the proud winner of not one, but two of the highly coveted trophies.

The Surrey Property Awards has become a very real benchmark for success within the Surrey Property Industry and, with the event being the largest of its kind outside London, the awards’ presentation and black tie gala dinner in Guildford is now a mustattend occasion for property professionals from all over Surrey.

Frith Park, a collection of thirty-seven new homes in Walton-on-the-Hill, proved to be exceptionally popular with the voting public and took pole position in two highly acclaimed categories: Best New Apartment Scheme, for The Mansion House, and Best New Homes Interior Design, for Stable Mews.

Managing Directors, Richard West and Brett Hamblin were absolutely delighted and justifiably proud of this success, and very grateful to their clients and contacts for taking the time to show their support.

Refurbishment of an Historic Listed Building – The Home of Reside Developments Reside Developments is fortunate to own its offices in one of Dorking High Street’s oldest remaining buildings. Built in the 1660s, when the High Street was known as East Street and was a busy stage coach route and home to a thriving market, The Dutch House has witnessed a myriad of changes over the centuries.

Having been comfortably housed in these historic premises since 2006, last year, the Directors decided it was time to bring the building up to date with a complete overhaul and total office refurbishment. Using their development skills for the benefit of their company, the three storey offices were extended to provide larger office space and modern staff facilities that include: new WCs, a shower room, fully equipped kitchen and a new board room. The renovations also revealed some previously hidden

original panelling and unearthed a hitherto undetected basement. Now fully integrated into the 21st century, The Dutch House continues its legacy as an integral part of Dorking’s historic town centre.

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Market Comment from Len Boyd, Business Development Director, Close Brothers Property Finance Following a busy start to 2020 and a very short lived ‘Boris bounce’, the property industry came to an abrupt halt in March when the UK lockdown was announced. Estate agents closed, as did most construction sites, with those that were able to remain open later struggling because builders merchants had closed or run out of materials.

Sales volumes for the year are expected to be 15% down on 2019, and whilst this is a much improved outlook from a few months ago, it still equates to approximately 124,000 lost sales.

In the background, whilst trying not to be too pessimistic, Brexit is still being negotiated and uncertainty remains as to whether the rising number of COVID 19 cases will necessitate a second national lockdown.

Fortunately, the British summer came early and although lockdown measures were still in place, estate agents were allowed to reopen in May. Around the same time, the government urged the construction industry to return to site and ‘Get Britain Building’, subject of course to proper use of PPE and strict social distancing.

Since June, a number of our larger developer clients who bought sites a year or so ago, are now scheduling imminent construction starts. Meanwhile, smaller developers are competing on site purchases again to ensure that they are not behind the curve when the market picks up.

The latest Halifax House Price Index shows UK house prices in August were 1.6% up on the previous month and 5.2% higher than in August 2019. This can, in part, be attributed to a release of pent up demand, a strong desire amongst some buyers to move to a bigger property and the temporary cut in stamp duty.

The recent surge in the property market is however, unlikely to be sustained, with most economic advisors believing that unemployment will continue to rise, putting greater downward pressure on house prices in the medium term.

Getting back to the market, it’s my personal belief that the fundamentals have not changed and as long as developers are delivering appropriate, good quality housing types and marketing these at realistic prices, then sales will be achieved within reasonable marketing periods. This is particularly evident in south west London, Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex, which will always be desirable residential destinations and where there is a continuing strong demand for quality new housing, coupled with a relatively affluent buyer market.

Competition between High Street banks, established property specialist banks, as well as alternative finance platforms, including private equity funds, peer to peer lenders and crowd funders, remains strong. That said, it is believed that a few of the latter have stressed loan books and at least one of these has recently closed.

With an unbroken forty year history, Close Brothers Property Finance is committed to providing finance to small and large property developers alike.

Thanks to our own sound judgement, sensible lending parameters and consistent approach, our loan book remains in very good shape and we look forward to maintaining our respected position in the market for many years to come.

Brett Hamblin, Joint Managing Director

Evening Standard Award Win makes it a Hat-trick for Reside At times like this, when ‘normal life’ seems a distant memory, good news is not only welcome, but also adds a huge boost of confidence and moral to all concerned.

And good news is precisely what Reside received in September, as their flagship development, Frith Park, scored a third successive win with a much sought-after Evening Standard New Homes Award.

Frith Park comprises a magnificent collection of just 37 superior properties set within seven acres of historic parkland. Accessed by a sweeping tree-lined driveway, the development, which took over three years to bring to fruition, clearly set the judges hearts and minds racing and took Reside Developments to the winning post with a ‘Highly Commended Award’ in the ‘Best Small Development Category.

This is the third successive award win for the development, having scooped both the ‘Best Development’ and also ‘Best Interior Design Award’ only last November at the prestigious Surrey Property Awards in Guildford.

Joint Managing Directors for the business, Richard West and Brett Hamblin, commented: “Not only is this fabulous news, as we have worked so hard to achieve recognition for this development, but it also comes with some nostalgia, as the very first award Reside won was an Evening Standard Award for the conversion of a Dairy building. These awards are not easy to win and we are so proud to have two under our belts.”

Under normal circumstances, the company would have arranged a celebratory dinner, but sadly as they are a team of 12 and still growing, this was not possible due to the Covid restrictions. However, the Directors were so grateful for everyone’s efforts that they sent a gift to each member of the team - which of course was delivered in a socially distanced manner.