Leading housing association A2Dominion is laying off half its development team in a change of plan to rein in new house building developments.
A2Dominion said it would now focus on improvements to existing stock and intensification projects on existing sites, in part funded by targetted stock sales.
The policy switch would move the social housing landlord away from new developments, particularly those for private sale via its FABRICA brand.
It comes after the housing regulator downgraded A2Dominion at the start of the year over concerns about business planning, risks and controls.
The housing association has already seen its new build programme drop from 7,817 at its peak in 2018 to 1,645 today.
Michael Reece, A2Dominion’s chief property officer, said the new strategy would see its development team cut by half with redundancy consultation already underway.
He said the housing association would now take a regional approach to the delivery of its current pipeline and future projects, with dedicated teams for London and the South East.
Reece said: “We remain committed to building new affordable homes for those in need, however this will be done in a slightly different way.
“The shift will see A2Dominion targeting the regeneration and redevelopment of properties that need the greatest investment.
“Our new strategy will also improve the quality and energy and environmental performance of homes to either improve, regenerate or disinvest in our existing portfolio.
“This new way of developing homes and improving existing customers’ living environments is designed to build resilience and flexibility into our development programme.
“We will also focus on individual investment strategies for each local authority partner which will focus on reviewing and regenerating current stock. This will also look at stock rationalisation and dis-investment in stock that distracts the group from its core purpose.
“We’ll be looking at opportunities for redeveloping and improving densification and consider stock rationalisation where necessary to fund new development opportunities within the area.”
