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Succeeding
in tough times
Welcome to our latest edition of NewSpace, in which I’m delighted
we are able to tell you about more great work won and delivered by
Wates Living Space for our customers and their residents.
Winning awards…
We have been thrilled to be recognised with further
awards success, with Wates retaining the coveted
Major Contractor of the Year title at 2010’s Building
Awards. “A rare feat of winning two years in a row,
thanks to an equally rare combination of commercial
and management skills,” said judges: “Wates
demonstrates excellence and is a formidable force
for any rivals to contend with.”
For the first time this year, Wates
achieved a listing in the Sunday
Times Best 100 Companies to
Work For 2010 index – thanks
in no small part, I’m sure, to the
support of Wates Living Space’s
people who, I’m proud to say, consistently rank
highest across the group in staff satisfaction surveys.
Wates was also presented with a ‘Giving Something
Back’ award – one of only six special awards – which
celebrates companies whose exceptional leadership
makes a difference to employees and
the environment.
We recently became the only construction
company to achieve Platinum Status in Business in
the Community’s CSR Index, with an overall
score increase to 95.1%. The index provides
an opportunity to measure the extent to which
responsible business practices are embedded
within our corporate strategy and
operations, and benchmark our corporate
responsibility performance against
leading companies in the UK. We
have also been recognised
by BiTC with the Award of a
‘Big Tick’ in the Employability
category for our Building
Futures scheme, which
won ‘Best Practice in the
Community’ at the TPAS
awards too.
…Winning contracts
As pleased as we are to receive these accolades from
the industry, we continue to be equally, if not more,
recognised in the market, with a succession of new
framework appointments and contracts.
We are one of only a few contractors to be selected
for all three regional clusters of the HCA Delivery
Partner Panel, which plans to use public sector land to
deliver much-needed new affordable housing.
As part of the Regenter Consortium,we are working
towards the financial close of Kirklees Council’s £72
million ‘Excellent Homes for Life’ Housing PFI project,
consisting of 140 extra care apartments for older
people and 360 one and two bed apartments, with
work on site due to commence in February 2011.
A large new-build scheme worth £47 million, forming
part of the Ocean Estate Regeneration in Tower
Hamlets, London, brings the total value of our work on
this estate alone to £85 million – close to £100 million
of work won with East Thames Housing Group this year.
A sound and strong future
Since our previous issue, Wates has published
its annual report and accounts for 2009, which
demonstrates not only the continued financial
performance and stability of the group, but the
contribution that our Living Space business makes
towards this, including:
• An 11% increase on 2008’s turnover, to
£264 million
• 91% of sites injury-free
• 94% of non-hazardous waste diverted
from landfill
• A record order book lined up for 2010.
With contract wins and performance off to such
a good start already, I am confident that this will
be another great year for Wates Living Space and
our customers. Please get in touch to find out the
difference we could make to your next project.
Ian Burnett
Managing Director,
Wates Living Space
NewSpace
ISSUE 3, 2010
Featuring:
2 Proud to be
House Proud!
4 Building
Opportunities
6 Green Homes
in Redbridge
8 Regional News
Round Ups
Above all, it’s about people

Proud to be House
We were staunch supporters of Inside Housing and the Chartered Institute of Housing’s
successful ‘Making A Case for Housing’ campaign, prior to the last Government spending
review in 2006. So when the impact of the economic downturn, predictions of public
spending cuts and an impending general election had them sufficiently concerned to
team up again, we at Wates Living Space knew we had to get involved.
House Proud – launched in Inside Housing in
January 2010 – is the key campaign for the
social housing industry this year, championing
the crucial contribution housing makes
to every aspect of social policy. The preelection
phase of an online petition signed
by hundreds of backers and a series of House
Proud articles providing statistics, stories and
case studies proving that successful lives
are founded on decent housing, captured
the attention of all three political parties and
secured support from all sides.
The CIH Harrogate conference forms the focus
of the next stage of the campaign, giving the
sector the opportunity to come together
to debate the role that social housing plays
and identify recommendations, which will be
presented to Grant Shapps, the new housing
minister, prior to his address to the conference
on Thursday 24 June.
Post conference, a final booklet will be sent to
all MPs before the Comprehensive Spending
Review to persuade them that every penny
invested in the housing budget has significantly
wider reaching benefits across health,
education, the environment, employment, antisocial
behaviour and managing the population’s
changing demographics.
The campaign has brought together hardhitting
statistics including:
1. Every £1 spent on construction output
generates a total of £2.84 in total economic
activity, as spending stimulates growth
elsewhere in the economy worth £1.84 (20%
of construction output is housing)*
2. For every £1 invested in construction, 90% will
be retained in the UK*
3. The UK is building around half of the new
homes that are needed each year to meet
demand**
4. Every £1.20 spent on decent homes saves the
taxpayer £1.80 on the cost of youngsters not
in education, employment or training**
5. Every £1 spent on energy efficient housing
saves the NHS 42p in health costs**
6. Every unemployed person costs the taxpayer
£8,000 per year**. The housebuilding industry
employs around 300,000 people†.
* Recent research published in the LEK report
** CIH Making the Case for Housing
† Home Builders’ Federation
Riverbank enterprise supported
The Riverbank Café and Market Garden, a not-for-profit social enterprise set up
by local residents of Southways Housing Group to benefit the local community,
was awarded £44,000 by Wates Giving in January 2010.
The Market Garden will help return the estate to its
former glory as a garden estate, as well as teaching
the local community to grow their own produce.
The Riverbank Café on the Merseybank, refurbished
by Wates Living Space, will then serve quality food,
sourced and cooked locally, and offer basic training
to residents in either growing food, cooking or
customer service skills.
June Stenson from the Market Garden said:
“Wates’ support has been essential from day one.
We would have hit major problems with the site
renovation and refurbishment without Wates help,
and the funding received will enable us to appoint
a co-ordinator/project manager for a period of
two years.”
Karen Mitchell, Chief Executive of Southway
Housing Trust, said: “This is a great local project
that offers something new and exciting to people
living in this area. We also recognise what a
significant contribution Wates has made to
support the future success of Riverbank and are
extremely pleased to see this donation being
made to a project that will make a real difference.”
Jim Duffy from Wates Living Space
added: “Living Space is committed
to making a real difference to the
communities where we work, and we
hope this contribution from Wates
Giving will help push this fantastic
project forward.”
Wates Giving is the Wates family’s
charitable programme, which has so far invested
over £2 million in local initiatives proposed and
championed by our people.
giving
Charlie Wates present Wates Giving’s ch
2 NewSpace ISSUE 3, 2010

Proud!
We build or
refurbish 20,000
homes a year for our
social housing
partners, so it’s very
clear to us what a
huge difference
decent, comfortable housing makes to
every aspect of the lives of its residents.
The objective of Inside Housing and the
Chartered Institute of Housing’s House
Proud campaign is to ensure that our
new government recognises the
wide-ranging benefits of maintaining
– if not increasing – funding for our
sector. As sponsors of House Proud,
Wates Living Space urges everyone in
the sector to join the campaign to make
sure that housing gets the support it
needs – and deserves.
Steve Trusler, Strategy Director,
Wates Living Space
Conservatives have already signed up
to the House Proud campaign, and we
included housing pledges in our election
manifesto. You can’t stress enough how
much good quality housing matters.
David Cameron, speaking as leader of the
Conservative party before the election
by Wates Giving
An extra 100,000 homes built in the
year of the next parliament would:
• Create 460,000 jobs which could
cover all regions of the UK
• Add £5.8 billion in tax
• Reduce unemployment and cut benefit
expenditure by £1.1 million
• Reduce government debt by £23 billion
• Provide 1% to GDP growth
• Positively impact on the cost of public
borrowing
Source: Savills ‘The Case for Housing’ Market Insight, Spring/
Summer 2010
eque to the Riverbank Café and Market Garden
3

Pilots demonstrate
Building Opportunities su
Following the release of a Building Opportunities Report and Toolkit, the findings and
recommendations from two subsequent employability pilots were unveiled in April at an
event at the CIH offices in London.
Building Opportunities – a research project,
chaired by Wates Living Space and managed by
Business in the Community with the support of
a range of companies and housing associations
– was initiated to explore the impact that
businesses and housing associations could
make to local communities by working more
closely together. It found that although many
successful one-to-one relationships between
businesses and social landlords existed, there
were few examples of multiple businesses working
with social landlords.
Business Action
on Economic Renewal
BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES
Business and housing associations
working together to help residents
into employment: Lessons from
Birmingham and Bristol
COMMUNITY
ENVIRONMENT
MARKETPLACE
WORKPLACE
Funding for the two
pilot projects was
secured from the
TSA and Wates Living
Space. Working with
BiTC, Midlands Heart
and Places for People,
the aim was to create
multi-sector business
partnerships to help
social housing tenants
to build their skills
and find routes into
employment. CV and
interview workshops,
Business in the Community – mobilises behind-the-scenes
business for good. Business Community
Business Our Action members commit to take action on the key issues 137 Shepherdess Walk
of today, be that people or planet, and create a unique London N1 7RQ, UK
on Economic platform Renewal
for collaborative action. visits to workplaces
T +44 (0) 20 7566 8650
F +44 (0) 20 7253 1877
E socialhousing@bitc.org.uk
and work experience
March 2010
www.bitc.org.uk placements were just
Registered Details 137 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7RQ. Telephone: 020 7566 8650 Registered Charity No: 297716.
some
Company
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Printed
opportunities
by CPG, an FSC and
made
PEFC accredited printer. Printed on Revive 50:50 White Silk, a material containing 50% post-consumer waste, which is
both FSC certified and Carbon Neutral
available to participants, who were referred
® . Product code 01COM000490.
by their landlords via agencies. Wates also
ran a Building Futures scheme in Bristol that
gave delegates an insight into careers in the
construction industry.
In all, 19 businesses provided support to 111
residents between September 2008 to March
2010. The pilots found that working with
Housing Associations gives businesses the most
direct route in to some of the most deprived
neighbourhoods in the UK, and resulted in
recommendations including:
• Housing associations committing resource
to employability as a corporate priority, to
explore how working with businesses can
complement existing activities
• Building housing associations’ understanding
of opportunities to engage with businesses,
and their confidence that the private sector
will be receptive to approaches
• Making the most effective investments by
creating activities that best reflect the local
economy
• Partnering smaller housing associations,
where resources are an issue, with other local
housing associations
• Tackling financial barriers that currently
discourage residents from returning to work
and losing the stable income that housing
benefit provides
Business in the Community Business Action on Economic Renewal
A toolkit for SoCiAl lANDlorDS
Business Action
on Economic Renewal
A toolkit for
SoCiAl lANDlorDS
Building opportunities for business
and social landlords to work together
COMMUNITY
ENVIRONMENT
MARKETPLACE
WORKPLACE
• Encouraging funding bodies to recognise the
growing expectations for housing associations
to provide greater support for their residents’
employability.
Both pilots developed strong and sustainable
relationships between housing associations
and businesses and succeeded in increasing
residents’ employability, and we are delighted
that the partners involved are continuing to
support the work, creating opportunity for more
residents into the future.
Wates is passionate about making
a lasting difference to not only the
people’s homes where we work but to
the wider community. Across the UK,
our teams work closely with local
communities on projects ranging from
the refurbishment of kitchens at a local
community college, through to funding
a full-time youth worker to engage with
local people and develop the services
they need. In 2009, our community
work delivered more than £875,000 of
value in kind to communities in need.
Steve Trusler, Strategy Director, Wates Living Space
4 NewSpace ISSUE 3, 2010

ccess
Building Opportunities
in Bristol
• 62 residents signposted
towards employability support
• 38 employee volunteers
delivered opportunities to
residents
• 13 companies in active
support
• 4 residents now in
employment
• 4 residents started
voluntary work
• 8 residents enrolled in further
education or training
Building Opportunities
in Birmingham
• 6 businesses engaged in
the pilot
• 25 employee volunteers
• 60 residents signed up
• 49 residents undertook
one or more employability
opportunities
• 7 people have started
employment
• 8 people have entered
further education
Building Futures on
course for all targets
Building Futures, Wates’ vocational training scheme that delivers
opportunities within the construction industry to the otherwise
long-term unemployed, recently reached the landmark of over
250 graduates. With 23 programmes completed in deprived
areas to date, the scheme is well on track to reach its objective of
getting 500 long-term unemployed into the workplace by 2012.
92% of delegates secured a job following a recent Building
Futures programme in Inverclyde, Glasgow
Funded by the Wates Family Enterprise Trust,
Building Futures particularly targets over 25s
facing barriers to re-entering work, such as exoffenders,
lone parents and black, asian and
ethnic minorities. Each course combines some
traditional teaching with a variety of practical
activities, including site visits and trade taster
days, to provide alternatives to classroombased
learning. Courses also include skills for
finding employment, such as CV writing and
interview techniques, and general skills, such as
first aid, health & safety and IT awareness.
In 2009, the programme received accreditation
from the Assessment and Qualification Alliance,
meaning that not only are course graduates
likely to obtain the Construction Skills
Certification Scheme (CSCS) card – Building
Futures has a 98% pass of this minimum entry
level qualification to working on site – but also
the equivalent of a GCSE grade D. For many
participants, who have little or no qualifications
otherwise, this is a huge achievement and a firm
first step back on the road to employment.
Building Futures has been awarded a BiTC Big
Tick for Employability, and won ‘Best Practice in
the Community’ at this year’s TPAS awards.
“The key to the programme’s success
hasn’t been about simply giving people
new skills, but inspiring them to learn new
things, explore new possibilities and to have
confidence in their ability to succeed. We
plan to increase the number of participants
in Building Futures to 375 by the end of 2010,
by holding 18 further courses nationally.”
Louise Hyde, Building Futures Project Manager
Building Futures
by numbers
23
programmes
nationally since
launch in 2005
251
participants had
completed a
course by the end
of January 2010
2,510
hours volunteered
to community
projects in deprived
areas so far
67%
of delegates have
gone on into
employment or
further learning
98%
pass rate for the
Construction
Skills Certification
Scheme (CSCS)
On track to reach
our target of
500
participants by
2012
335
participants
returned to work
or training by 2012
at our current
success rate
5

Turning empty proper
into green family hom
With approximately 27% of the UK’s total carbon emissions arising from energy use in housing, the biggest
challenge we currently face is how we will make our contribution towards the 2050 target of an 80% reduction
in UK emissions. At Wates Living Space, we’re working pro-actively not just on pioneering technology to
improve the sustainability of existing stock, but also on the innovative funding models that will unlock the
resources to make a long term impact on energy efficiency and the reduction of carbon emissions.
Paul Davies, Sustainable Technologies Manager, Wates Living Space
East Thames Group’s pilot
scheme in Redbridge, in
partnership with Redbridge
Council, Wates Living
Space, the Building
Research Establishment
(BRE) and construction
consultancy Pellings,
was officially launched in
March 2010 with a press
invitation to visit the first of
20 previously unoccupied
homes to be refurbished.
x Retrofit for the Future research underway
As part of our work into how best to reduce carbon emissions and move towards tough 2050 targets,
Wates Living Space is a member of a consortium that has secured funding from the Technology Strategy
Board to work on six ‘Retrofit for the Future’ programmes, which will test and compare some of the latest
energy saving technologies and methodologies to refurbish the UK housing stock.
Client Consultant Technology
Raven PRP Environmental Inter seasonal thermal store
Peabody Fielden Clegg Bradley Passiv Haus
Twin Valley Broadway Malyan Biomass
Bolton at Home Broadway Malyan Heat recovery
Peabody HTA Communal heat
Twin Valley Broadway Malyan Photo voltaics
As well as measuring performance, our research
will consider other important factors for the
social housing market, including how easy each
technology is to install in occupied properties,
how well residents engage with it and how
performance is affected by residents’ behaviour.
With findings and recommendations scheduled
to be shared across the industry next year, this
is sure to be an important piece of research for
2011 and beyond.
6 NewSpace ISSUE 3, 2010

Innovative funding
assists delivery in Luton
ties
es
Luton Learning & Community Partnership, the Joint Venture
Company comprising Wates, Luton Borough Council and
BSFi, has committed to a £70 million programme of housing
development in addition to the £0.6 billion ‘Building Schools
for the Future’ programme.
Carbon emissions have been
reduced by 64% at the home
in Ilford, Essex, and it has now
been rated as meeting Code for
Sustainable Homes Level 1 – an
enormous shift compared with its
pre-refurb grading of minus 5.
The project – funded by the
Homes and Communities Agency
(HCA), Redbridge Council and the
NHBC Foundation – is examining
measures to improve water and
energy efficiency, with empty
homes being fitted with a range
of technologies including smart
meters to help residents to monitor
their energy use, cavity wall
insulation, water-saving toilets, taps
and bathroom fittings, solar panels
and solar hot water systems, and
energy efficient LED lighting and
heating systems.
Residents moving into these homes
will be provided with guidance on
making the most of these green
features as, for the next two years,
the homes will be extensively
monitored to assess actual energy
and water savings achieved, and the
effects of residents’ behaviour on
each home’s carbon footprint.
Luton Borough Council identified 16
potential development sites – some of
which are currently derelict and magnets for
anti-social behaviour – for a three-phase
‘New Homes for Luton’ programme to take
place over the next five years. Wates Living
Space, in partnership with Catalyst Housing
Group, will provide at least 450 affordable
units on mixed tenure developments,
converting areas previously considered
liabilities into thriving new communities.
Following a model wholly endorsed by
the HCA, funding generated through
open market sale on selected sites has
subsidised the construction of more
affordable homes on sites which would
otherwise not have been developed.
Any surplus has been ploughed back
into the financial model to help to fund
future sites.
In addition to the rented and shared
ownership affordable homes, which
approximately 200 homes for open
sale have helped to fund, Wates Living
Space, our designers and supply chain
are providing over £2.2 million worth
of added value for Luton, including 73
apprencticeships, 30 Building Futures
placements and one-to-one training for
new residents in how to get the most of
their new homes, which are all built to the
Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4.
Our work in Luton exemplifies how the HCA recommends that developers
embed the improvement of local employment and skills into procurement, with
our supply chain not only creating jobs locally, but supporting the delivery of
three Building Futures programmes too.
Ian Burnett, Managing Director, Wates Living Space
Luton Learning
L
L C P
& Community Partnership
George Moroney, Business
Manager, London & South East said:
“We are delighted to have been
involved in this groundbreaking
project. If we are to deliver the
vision of a sustainable Britain we
will need to find cost effective and
practical solutions that deliver real
savings in both energy use and
carbon emissions. We are hoping
that the solutions used within these
properties will be replicable across
more of our housing stock.”
7

Spotlight
on Scotland
Wates Living Space continues to show strong
growth in Scotland, with an increase to over 50
members of staff following the opening of a new
office in Glasgow and the appointment of Business
Unit Director, Ronnie Bennett, to lead our teams in
both the Glasgow and Edinburgh offices.
Ronnie has more than 25 years experience in the Scottish
construction industry, having worked during his career for
companies including Laing O’Rourke Scotland and Amec
Construction. He brings extensive construction experience
to our Scottish operations and his appointment will assist our
successful expansion into the construction market.
Projects currently or imminently on site include:
• a £50 million framework with Glasgow Housing Association
to modernise multi-storey flats throughout the city
• two projects, worth £2.3 million and £2.9 million
respectively, to deliver almost 50 homes as part of North
Lanarkshire Council’s new build council housing framework
• the refurbishment of housing stock throughout the
country to Scottish Housing Quality Standards, including
a £1.6 million refurbishment contract for Link Group (one
of Scotland’s largest RSLs) and a kitchen and bathroom
framework for Renfrewshire Council.
“I look forward to building on my relationships in the local
market and helping Wates expand. I am confident that we
are well positioned to capitalise on our strong track record
of providing quality construction
services in the Scotland region.”
Ronnie Bennett,
Business Unit Director,
Wates Scotland
Below: our new office in Glasgow
Midlands &
SOUTH WEST
With 99% of the Midlands team’s
projects delivered on time and on
budget, and 99% defect free, it’s no
surprise that our levels of customer
satisfaction and repeat business are
both as high as 95%. Contract wins in
our region include a Decent Homes
upgrade of over 2,000 properties
by March 2011 for Nottingham
City Homes and a £23 million, high
specification development of new
build houses and flats in Swindon’s old
town for Places for People. Showell
Court, a £7.5 million supported living
scheme in Wolverhampton for Accord
Housing Association was a recent
delivery highlight – the project was so
successful that we are now working on
an extra care project worth £19 million
for Trident Housing Association, a
fellow Matrix Partnership member.
WALES
Our office in South Wales had a
fantastic first twelve months, with
awards including a £5 million per
annum, five year refurbishment
contract for Newport City Homes and
a £2.5 million new build scheme of 26
Code 4 sustainable homes for Wales
and West Housing Association. In
North Wales, we have commenced
projects under the Syniad framework
for both Wales & West and Pennaf,
comprising two care homes, a low rise
development and a refurbishment.
London & SOUTH EAST
In addition to exceeding expectations
on many frameworks our region, Living
Space London and South East has
secured in excess of £300 million worth
of work in the first half of 2010. This
includes Southwark Major Housing
works, Decent Homes and external
works for Merton Priory Homes, The
Ocean Estate Regeneration for East
Thames Housing Group – a major new
build scheme of 467 homes and major
refurbishment works in Tower Hamlets
– and a £70 million new housing
scheme for Luton as part of the Total
Place regeneration. The completion of
a second successful scheme using the
Celcon thin joint blockwork system and
a pilot scheme with London Borough
of Redbridge, the BRE and East
Thames Housing Group to compare
different retrofit technologies are
just two examples of our continuing
commitment to developing the most
effective sustainable offerings for the
market. The team is also particularly
proud of its safety performance, with
no major injuries for over 17 months.
North West
The North West made a great start
to the year, winning the Equality
& Diversity category at the North
West Construction Awards and
Partner Employer at the Scientam
Achievement Awards. Recent
partnership schemes with Southway
Housing Trust, Northwards Housing
and Trafford Housing Trust include the
internal refurbishment of a 23 storey
tower block at Stretford House. We
have used an innovative cladding
system at towers owned by City
South Manchester Housing and are
transforming an existing tower block
in north Manchester into a supported
living scheme for Manchester City
Council. We are also pressing forward
with more new build developments;
Painswick Road for Willow Park Housing
– our second project through the
JV North framework – is a scheme
to construct Code Level 3 housing,
whilst Wade and Windermere is a
development of new flats constructed
within an existing estate for Eastland
Homes via the Guinness Northern
Counties and Riverside framework.
North East
Following an excellent start to 2010,
we in the North East are in a very
strong position, maintaining a stable
and secure business to deliver for our
customers. Significant wins include
appointment as Preferred Bidder for
Kirklees Excellent Homes for Life PFI
scheme, whilst we have continued
to successfully secure additional
works with existing key clients such
as St Leger Homes, Sheffield Homes,
Your Homes Newcastle and Synergy
Housing Solutions. Some exciting
projects are being delivered, such as
Riverside Dene in Newcastle, where
works include a full internal and
external works to five tower blocks.
With the employment of 95% local
labour contributing significantly to
the local economy, the immediate
positive impact in the area is
clear, and an excellent example of
regeneration of the Cruddas Park
area. In addition, our first Building
Futures programme of the year was
successfully delivered in Doncaster,
with further schemes planned in East
Durham and Newcastle.
for more information:
Email: living.space@wates.co.uk
Web: www.wates.co.uk
editor: Sarah Smith
Email: sarah.smith@wates.co.uk
design & print: Wildcat Creative Marketing
Email: info@wildcatcreative.co.uk