Beyond delivering new homes and developments, we shape spaces that encourage communities to grow and prosper. From investing in the communities we create, building homes that are affordable and taking care of nature, we constantly look for ways to promote local pride.
How we do it
In 2023, our developments provided over £29 million of investment to support local services in and around the communities we have created. From libraries, to healthcare, education, play spaces and sports facilities, we help develop the infrastructure needed for healthy communities.
Community Fund
The Miller Homes Community Fund is making a major impact on the lives of people in the areas where we operate. Local charities and groups in our 10 regions can apply for grants ranging between £250 and £2,000 to support their work to improve the community.
This could be through work which promotes education or wellbeing, encourages participation in sport and activities, or enhances the environment.
Each application is thoughtfully considered by a regional team of Miller Homes employees. Our people are passionate about supporting the community - this approach gives them an active role in helping groups and creates lasting connections between our teams and local people.
Since it was launched in 2022, we have delivered four rounds of the Community Fund in which we received 2,128 applications and awarded grants totalling £225,000 to 357 groups and charities.
Affordable housing
A lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing people across the UK. We help address this issue by increasing the supply of new housing and by making our homes affordable to a wider range of people.
How we do it
We build a variety of homes to suit local needs and demand. Typically, 26% of all the homes we build constitute much-needed affordable homes. In addition, we partner with Housing Associations and other sectors to provide different tenures of housing beyond traditional affordable homes. We are committed to increasing year-on-year the number of homes which are affordable to the customers in their markets.
29%
In 2023, we completed 3,475 homes*, of which 1,034 were affordable.
*Completed homes excluding Joint Venture units
Flexible specification
We want to ensure that our customers can afford a home in the area they want to live. This has been made possible by considering from the outset who our customers are, what kind of home they want to live in, and designing our homes accordingly. We also recognise that some customers want the opportunity to enhance the specification of their homes, which we have facilitated to meet their needs.
Options visualiser
The options visualiser is available digitally and has been designed with our customers in mind. It allows them to explore the different ways they could personalise their new home before reservation. It gives customers the opportunity to see fixtures and finishes in advance, enabling them to make informed choices.
Local nature
We are committed to creating open spaces for nature to thrive alongside people. We aim to deliver a net gain in biodiversity on all our developments.
How we do it
From November 2023, we were required to deliver a biodiversity net gain of 10% across all developments in England. Many of our sites already feature significant measures to support biodiversity. For example, our Cleve Wood development in Thornbury, West Midlands, will provide over 2.5 hectares of woodland area planting and over 2km of tree belts to link and buffer habitats on site.
At Earls Grange in Priorslee, West Midlands, our site will incorporate tree and hedgerow planting and 200 nest boxes for bird species identified through an ecological appraisal for the site.
Measures for birds, bats and hedgehogs permeate our developments at Springwood Park, Bridgewood Green and Langley Gate in Yorkshire, along with wildflower seeding, native hedge and tree planting, and sustainable drainage schemes – all of which contribute to creating healthy communities where people and planet can thrive together.
As signatories of the Homes for Nature commitment convened by the Future Homes Hub, we are committed to installing integral nest boxes on all of our sites, at a ratio of one per plot. These are targeted at cavity nesting birds, especially swifts, however where necessary we will also install nest boxes for other species. Our commitment will also ensure that hedgehog access routes are built in to all developments going through the planning process from 1 September 2024.