Harrogate Housing Association has raised £15m of new loan funding from Triodos Bank UK. The loan facility will enable the association to develop a further 200 homes to add to its existing portfolio of just over 300 homes in and around Harrogate.
The new homes will all have energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of B or above, with some properties generating renewable energy through air source heat pumps and solar panels. This will allow customers to benefit from energy bill savings, as well as providing wider environmental benefits.
Harrogate Housing Association was established in 1968 in response to an appeal launched to mark the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which addressed the need to provide good quality accommodation at affordable rents. The organisation aims to maintain these values more than 50 years later and deliver quality and affordable housing for the people of Harrogate.
Steven Brook, chief executive of Harrogate Housing Association, said:
This finance is very important for us as it enables us to go ahead with our plans to significantly increase the number of affordable homes we provide for the people of Harrogate. We are passionate about making housing inclusive for local people, who might otherwise be pushed out by the high property prices in the area. With Triodos Bank’s support, we are delighted to be able to create more high-quality housing to support local families.
Triodos Bank lends solely to organisations delivering positive social or environmental impact. Social housing is one of its key lending sectors; since 2008 the bank has completed £500m of loan facilities to some 50 housing associations across the UK.
Peter Borgers, senior relationship manager in the lending team at Triodos, added:
We’re very pleased to support Harrogate Housing Association in its plans for growth; its ambitious development programme will help provide a significant number of much needed affordable homes in the area.
About Triodos Bank
Founded in 1980, Triodos Bank has become a frontrunner in sustainable banking globally. As an independent bank that promotes responsible and transparent banking, it does not see any conflict between a focus on people and the planet and a good financial return. Instead it believes that they reinforce each other in the long-term.
Triodos Bank has banking activities in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Spain and Germany as well as Investment Management activities based in the Netherlands but active globally. Triodos Bank co-founded the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a network of sustainable banks. Together these banks want to grow sustainable banking and its impact on the real economy substantially.
About Harrogate Housing Association
Harrogate Housing Association was originally known as Harrogate Families Housing Association and is a not-for-profit housing provider registered with the Homes and Communities Agency. The association was formed in 1968 to address the need for good quality homes at affordable rents
Today Harrogate Housing Association manages 310 homes in and around the Harrogate district and co-operates closely with the local council in the delivery of its strategy to develop new homes.
Customers sit at the heart of the organisation, and this is borne out by its values ‘Local, approachable and customer focused’.
