Countryside Properties : Our commitment to building communities

At Countryside, we have been creating award-winning, sustainable communities for over 60 years. We are proud to put people at the heart of everything we do.

We are delighted to announce our "Building Communities" strategy - our approach to delivering high quality, well-designed communities which put communities and our stakeholders at the heart of our thinking.

It talks to both the physical infrastructure of building the community - the homes that are built and the building of relationships and the work undertaken to deliver socio- economic and environmental benefits to that community.

We have identified a number of principles that we believe are integral to Building Communities and that we will consistently embed on every development. By applying these principles, it will keep us true to our values and maximise socio-economic value for the communities we're here to support.

These are based on four key principles:

- Engagement - "To be involved in something"

Building long-term relationships with local authorities, housing associations & wider stakeholders where inclusivity, dialogue and sharing inform our approach.

- Empowerment - "The process of giving people more control"

Being open to public input at every stage, from design, planning and build, to long-term ownership of the community.

- Partnership - "An agreement between organisations and people to work together"

Effective partnerships and collaborative working enhances levels of openness and engagement.

- Stewardship - "The process of managing and nurturing communities in the long term"

Giving greater consideration to the required legacy arrangements, ensuring that once residents are living in the delivered homes, they are embedded within a community

Crucially, this strategy does not operate in isolation and is deeply connected to our other strategic priorities of sustainability, diversity, equity & inclusion and technology.

To truly build communities we need to consider holistic, integrated solutions which put people at the heart of our thinking. Applying the four principles of engagement, empowerment, partnership and stewardship consistently in our thinking and actions will mean we stay true to our values and deliver on why we exist. We remain committed in our pledge to create places people love.