Learn how housebuilders can work with local charities and schools, and help the community.
Property public relations takes many forms, but one of the most important to the housebuilders themselves is investing in the communities in which they build new homes, strengthening relationships and leaving behind a legacy when work on a site is completed. But why is it so important, and what lasting impact can it have on the communities in question?
The current landscape
New homes are vital to the country’s wider housing plan, tackling homelessness, providing modern methods of construction for safer and greener properties to eventually supersede period homes, and unlocking land across the country to its full potential by creating new homes and new communities side-by-side.
Housebuilders have a duty to not only deliver new homes, but to create a positive environment while doing so, of which building relationships with the existing community through property PR plays a key part. At a time when the cost of living remains on the rise, political uncertainty is in the air, and communities need support, the platform has been set for housebuilders to step up and stand out from other sectors in giving back to the places in which it builds new homes.
Property PR strategy
Identifying opportunities for property PR can be challenging when there are so many valid, worthy causes to throw your support behind.
Education
The most notable cluster group in the community would be education – supporting schools and the future of the community in which the school is located, and potentially the next generation of talent within the housing sector, too.
Charities
Charities naturally play a big part in a property PR strategy, too. A charity which is located close to a new homes development, or one with a cause which links to the industry, or someone connected to the housebuilder, is a trend often played up to. The importance of supporting charities which carry a cause to directly support its local community is key here, with a housebuilder wanting to develop and maintain a healthy relationship with residents who understand new homes are required to enhance their area, but would appreciate the support of the housebuilder carrying out the development work.
Community groups
But a property public relations strategy can reach far wider than schools and charities. Sports teams, foodbanks, hospitals and health or emergency services, community action groups and local businesses including cafes, retailers and restaurants can all benefit from the support of a housebuilder in its area.
Open house
Opening its own doors to the community is also a tried and tested method of bringing a housebuilder closer to its audience locally. Providing unused or no longer required materials to community groups, welcoming visitors into the development’s showhome to use the space, or inviting schools or college students to visit the development for educational tours or to ask them to make a contribution towards the development in some way can all strengthen community relationships.
Housebuilders in practice
Our client, and one of the UK’s largest national housebuilders – Miller Homes – offer a specialism in community relations through their Community Fund initiative, which aids charities and businesses across their 10 regional locations with £10,000 each year. The programme offers equality of opportunity to the community with an application process opening twice a year for groups to put their reasons forward for why they should receive between £250 and £2,500 of the housebuilder’s charity fund for the calendar year.
Last year, our property public relations service supported the Southern region to achieve record numbers of applications to the Community Fund, through publicising when the application process opened and closed, and explaining how the initiative worked, through a series of B2C media relations engagement.
Giving back to the community
For a housebuilder, building a community is so much more than building new homes. It’s about considering an area’s history, complementing its surroundings, providing employment opportunities for local people and for those same people and their families to have something to look back on and be proud of their achievements.
It’s about giving something back to the community. Not just through Section 106 payments and mandatory planning obligations but seeking and executing opportunities which provide a tangible benefit to local people. And ultimately, it’s about leaving behind a legacy for its new homeowners and the existing community. In property PR, your goal is to hear someone walking down the street and saying “The housebuilder down the road have been brilliant, you know?”
Interested in learning more about our public relations services? Read our specialist property PR services page, and then get in touch with our team.
