Richard Sterling to exercise ‘passion’ for delivering great homes after joining new senior team.
Seddon Housing Partnership’s newly appointed Development and Decarbonisation Director said he was delighted to be given the chance to exercise his “passion” for creating greener homes at a company “that improves people’s lives” as the business positions for growth in the coming years. With offices in Bolton and Birmingham, Seddon Housing Partnerships is a construction, maintenance and retrofit specialist operating throughout the North West and the Midlands.
As part of the creation of an exciting new senior team, the company unveiled its Development and Decarbonisation Director as vastly experienced Richard Sterling, who joins Seddon from Willmott Dixon where he served as National Head of Land & Development.
With an ethos of 'Better Homes, Better Lives' and commitment to improving the quality of homes and designing properties with the lives of residents in mind, the company works with local authorities, housing providers and housebuilders to build new and improve existing homes. And today, Richard, 38, said the mantra was a big part of his decision to take the job at a company which “has a great platform to create something really unique”.
Barnsley-born Richard, who described his new role as “working with our development and preconstruction teams to unlock development and drive growth” said: “The 'Better Homes, Better Lives' ethos is a genuine and powerful message that reminds everyone why we do what we do. Whether we are building a new home or refurbishing an existing one, we are changing people’s lives.”
In the last three years, Seddon Housing Partnerships has built more than 1,365 new homes and apartments through a mixture of tenures, including housing for sale, shared ownership and market rent. In addition the firm has refurbished 2285 over the same period, cementing its place as a leading regional solutions provider.
Richard’s appointment complements a new senior team headed by Managing Director, Peter Jackson and Commercial Director, Mark Walker. The team has been rounded out with the appointment of Stephen Jones as the new Head of Decarbonisation, Refurbishment and Retrofit and Martin Sharkey as Construction Director in the last six months.
Richard said the establishment of Seddon Housing Partnerships as a standalone business within the Seddon Group of businesses was another reason for taking the job. “The creation of Seddon Housing Partnerships is a great platform to create something that isn’t being delivered in the market at the minute. There is a gap in the market for forward thinking regional family-owned contractor/developers to deliver an end-to-end housing solution whether that’s new build, refurbishment, estate regeneration or retrofit. Seddon directly employs 160 trades people and it’s a great example of why it is so respected. We can really make an impact across the North and Midlands.”
Whilst being widely known for its role in building new homes, Seddon Housing Partnerships is also at the forefront of the retrofitting agenda ensuring properties perform more efficiently. And Richard, who contributes to the Kirklees Climate Commission in Huddersfield, said the green-focus was very much in-keeping with his own “passion for decarbonisation. At Seddon our aim is to support customers to enhance the energy efficiency of their homes.”
This includes utilising its in-house team of trade and accreditation experts to ensure compliance measures are in place such as ensuring properties meet the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C standard of energy efficiency – amid a 2030 government deadline.
Richard added: “We also deliver a range of decarbonisation measures such as external, internal and cavity wall insulation, air source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, replacing windows and draft proofing.”
The green focus is also at the forefront of new build developments – by the end of 2024 Seddon aim to have completed around 400 homes in Salford built to the Passivhaus standard - stringent design parameters for energy efficiency and high-quality insulation, ventilation, and airtightness levels of below 0.6m3/h.
About Richard’s appointment, Peter Jackson, Managing Director of Seddon Housing Partnerships said: “Richard’s vast experience and passion makes him a perfect fit as part of our exciting new structure that will help the business grow and cement its burgeoning reputation as the contractor of choice to build, maintain and future proof homes for providers of social housing.”