Blenheim Estate Homes and West Oxfordshire District Council Shortlisted for Estates Gazette Awards

Samantha McClary, Editor of Estates Gazette, said: “The awards for 2021 are all about new horizons, about looking to the future, about celebrating what matters. About being together.”

Roger File, Blenheim Estates Property Director and COO, said: “We are thrilled to receive recognition for the ground breaking work we have done in partnership with West Oxfordshire District Council.

“The Blenheim-WODC approach has at its core a recognition of the significance of land ownership in delivering affordable housing and building strong communities and local economies.

“Blenheim has a commitment to provide high quality, affordable properties for local people which will enable young families to remain and work within the local community.

“Because these residents are our neighbours, we have a dedicated housing officer who works one on one with all tenants and purchasers, to provide continued support.

“Developments like our site at Park View in Woodstock are designed to address the long-term issue of lack of housing within West Oxfordshire, and are part of our goal to build 300 truly affordable homes by 2027,” he added.

Councillor Merilyn Davies, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “Our partnership with Blenheim allows us to meet our priority of providing affordable housing for the people of West Oxfordshire which means local people can afford to buy and live here.

“That Blenheim has been able to achieve this at 60% of market rent is remarkable. This, coupled with one to one support for tenants who need it, means we can help people afford their own homes and reduce homelessness across the district.”

Typically, affordable rental properties are let at a 20% discount to market rent, but together with WODC, Blenheim Estate Homes have devised a model that enables discounts up to 40% of the current market rent to be offered to tenants.

This means Blenheim can build and manage affordable homes efficiently and without subsidy as part of its existing development and investment operations.

As part of its Park View development in Woodstock, Blenheim is making 50% of the homes available as affordable homes which encompasses both affordable rent homes at 40% below market rent and shared ownership homes, where homeowners have the opportunity to staircase to 100%.

The finalists in Estates Gazette 2021 Public/Private Partnership Award category are: Blenheim Estate Homes and West Oxfordshire District Council, Bruntwood Works and Trafford Council, The English Cities Fund – a joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments. U+I, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and LCR Wrenbridge Land, Harlow District Council & Vinci Developments.

About Blenheim Estate Homes

At Blenheim Estate we have been landowners for more than three centuries, and it is our ambition to build homes and create thriving communities for people to enjoy living and working, now and in the future.

We aim to bring together the long-established local communities and attract a diverse new community. We are achieving this by offering high-quality homes and building new developments within Oxfordshire, either to buy or rent.