construction
Housing association Aster Group has built more than 1,000 homes in 12 months for the second year running.
 
The group invested in excess of £210m and completed 1,067 houses in the year to 31 March 2020, despite development coming to a halt in the final weeks as building sites across the UK closed due to the impact of Covid-19.

During the course of the year, Aster completed 955 affordable homes, comprising 524 for social and affordable rent and 431 for shared ownership. The remaining 112 were built for open market sale.

Aster said that the majority of its development partners have now begun a phased reopening of sites, in line with government safety guidance, but that it is still too early to forecast how Covid-19 will affect the number of homes the group builds in its current financial year.

Amanda Williams, group development director at Aster Group, said:

  • "Despite the impact of Covid-19 towards the end of the financial year, our development programme delivered strong results, including our highest ever sales of shared ownership homes.
  • "We're yet to see the full impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on construction and how many homes this allows the housing sector to build over the next 12 months.
  • "Nevertheless, even as we navigate these challenges, our strategy remains unchanged and our goal is the same – to build more homes every year and provide as many people as possible with safe, secure, affordable, good-quality housing."