Bernicia Group

Building communities tenants are proud to call home is at the heart of what we do at Bernicia. So it was sleeves rolled up and a real team effort delivered working with tenants on a day of community action across Ashington. Our housing services team together with our friends from Northumbria Police and Northumberland County Council worked to tackle issues and act on tenant concerns. The community action day was based out of Hirst Welfare Centre - the beating heart of the local area. We worked hard with tenants to tidy estates, tackling anti-social behaviour issues such as fly-tipping and helping residents dispose of their household waste in skips for professional removal. Our teams hugely appreciated the time tenants took to speak with us to feedback on the services we provide everyday. All in all, a terrific day showing the power of community cohesion in action! #community #partnership #home

📢 JOB OPPORTUNITY: Change Co-ordinator 📢 ✅ Location: Ashington ✅ Contract: Permanent - Full Time ✅ Hours: 37 per week. ✅ Salary: £41,160 per annum (from April 2025). ✅ Closing Date: 27th March at 5pm. We are looking for a professional with proven experience in project support and co-ordination.   You will co-ordinate the planning and delivery of business change projects, working with internal and external stakeholders to ensure collaboration and communication throughout projects. With your knowledge, you'll keep us on track with quality project documentation, including RAID logs and regular updates to project boards. You will have strong project management and organisational skills, with a track record of successfully co-ordinating projects from start to finish. For more information and to apply for this role, please go here: https://lnkd.in/eTy2ZUiM #housingjobs

Terrific news for Northumberland towns and communities with millions of pounds worth of funding agreed to improve seven towns across the county. The County Council’s Cabinet agreed proposals to establish a new £9m Town Centre Transformation Package funded by Northumberland County Council as part of the county’s £21m Borderlands Place Programme.  The ten-year investment programme focuses on town growth in Alnwick, Prudhoe, Bedlington, Newbiggin, Bellingham, Haltwhistle and Rothbury.  Jeff Boyd, Chair of Bedlington Place Partnership Group and Director of Development at Bernicia, said: “It’s great to hear of this backing for new projects to boost both Bedlington town centre and Bedlington Station alongside the announcements across all the towns in the Borderlands Place Programme. "We have been working closely together to develop opportunities to improve this area and I’d like to thank local county councillors, West Bedlington Town Council and East Bedlington Parish Council alongside our private and community partners, for all the work they have done to date and their continuing support to develop and deliver this programme.” 

Employability experts at Bernicia and the Newcastle United Foundation are uniting to deliver job opportunities for young people in Berwick. They are working with local employers, including the Lindisfarne Inn and County Healthcare, to deliver two-week long employability courses to give young people not in work or education the skills and confidence to secure a job. There’s a guaranteed job interview for everyone completing the course and a Level 1 qualification in employability. In total, there are six courses during 2025 teaching 60 young people – the first in Berwick from Tuesday March 18th at 12 noon, based in the Newcastle Building Society's community room, 12 Hide Hill, Berwick, TD15 1AB.  Further courses will be held in Berwick and Ashington’s Hirst Welfare Centre throughout the year with dates to be unveiled closer to the time of delivery. Newcastle United Foundation’s employability team will lead the training courses – funded by Bernicia as part of our £2m commitment to help deliver employment opportunities to local communities where our tenants live. The employability partnership aims are: ✅ 60 participants will receive employability support and training. ✅ 20 unemployed or economically inactive participants will gain full-time employment. ✅ 10 unemployed or economically inactive participants will gain part-time employment. ✅ 45 participants will achieve a recognised employability qualification. If you're interested in attending the courses or want more information, please contact Lauren.Dixon@nufc.co.uk Elaine Hardington, Bernicia employability business partner, said: “We recognise the challenges that people face in finding work and our partnership will give people the confidence and skills to find employment – with a guaranteed job interview for people completing the two-week course.” Hannah Rowan, Senior Employability Co-ordinator at Newcastle United Foundation, said: “Each year we support dozens of participants to achieve positive outcomes and by working with Bernicia, we can provide a supportive and meaningful experience for young people in Berwick to build confidence and transform lives.” Bernicia's Elaine Hardington and Newcastle United Foundation's Daniel Hancock pictured. #employability

There's a lot to talk about at Bernicia - with innovative and inspiring work being delivered by our colleagues right across our business. Bernicia News brings you up to date with all that's going on.

Bernicia helps ‘meet local demand’ in Berwick “Our scheme will deliver much needed quality affordable new homes for rent and shared ownership for the people of Berwick.” Housing provider Bernicia Group, in partnership with Ascent Homes, is delivering 56 properties on the site of the former Seton Hall, in Berwick, with construction progressing on a £13 million scheme. The development includes a mix of bungalows and houses available for social rent and shared ownership, with the first homes expected to be ready by late summer. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/dXkhTVeV Paul Errington Jeff Boyd Graeme Banfield Advance Northumberland

At Bernicia we've eradicated the gender pay gap by promoting equality of opportunity, retaining and recruiting the best talent.   It's International Women’s Day tomorrow, and we are proud to back its #AccelerateAction theme taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality.   The median hourly pay gap between male and female colleagues at Bernicia has now been closed - but we remain fully committed to continuing to do all we can to build an ever more inclusive workforce which recognises the benefits diversity brings to our business.   For instance, our new aspiring leaders programme – nurturing our most talented colleagues – is 83% female.   And half of our executive team – our most senior colleagues at Bernicia - are female, with 60% of our board and independent members women.   We will continue to work with our partners across the North East business sector to build aspiration, increase confidence and provide access to training, skills and job opportunities. #IWD2025 #AccelerateAction

Bernicia's £13m scheme is on track to deliver quality new affordable homes to help tackle a housing shortage in Berwick. Together with our construction partner Ascent Homes, we plan to have the first properties completed on the site of the former Seton Hall by late summer. In total, 56 homes are being built on the two-hectare site just a few hundred yards from the town centre – a mix of two and three bedroom bungalows, and two, three and four bedroom houses for social rent and shared ownership. Rents for the properties will be at social rent levels which are significantly below that of private sector rents in the local area. And shared ownership properties will allow people to part buy and part rent their new home, with the option of buying bigger shares when they can afford to do so. Jeff Boyd, Bernicia Development Director, said: “Our scheme will deliver much needed quality affordable new homes for rent and shared ownership for the people of Berwick. “We know how much interest there is in the town about the scheme and that people are keen to see how it is progressing. “The houses are being built to meet local demand – from people taking their first steps onto the housing ladder, through to young couples, families and older people needing a high-quality, energy efficient affordable home to rent. “Bernicia’s investment in the scheme, including funding from Homes England and funding from Northumberland County Council, demonstrates our commitment to the town, and will be the first affordable housing delivered in Berwick for ten years.” Paul Errington, Director at Ascent Homes, said: “We are delighted to be delivering a high quality development, with a mixture of homes designed to meet the needs of local people. “The homes are ideally located close to Berwick town centre and its amenities, highly energy efficient, helping tenants and owners with significantly reduced running costs.” Bernicia is committed to investing £110m into building 800 new homes as part of our four-year corporate strategy. Paul (left) and Jeff are pictured at the entrance to the Seton Hall development site. #affordablehomes #newhomes #housing

We've further strengthened our senior leadership team with the appointment of Kelly Gardner as finance director.   Kelly brings a wealth of leadership experience to the role from the public and private sectors, most notably in local government and education.   She led Northumberland County Council’s £38m Transformation Programme as director of strategic change, with the aims of improving value for money across the council and boosting resident satisfaction with services.   A fully qualified chartered accountant, she has a proven track record of delivering strong financial performance and clear decision-making at large and complex organisations over a 25-year career.   Kelly said: “Bernicia is a great organisation which provides high quality, affordable homes and delivers exceptional services to make a positive impact in North East communities.   “I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to join the team in such a values driven organisation.   “I look forward to working closely with the management team, providing financial insights to support the organisation’s continued success and enhancing the impact on the communities it serves.”   Janette Longstaff, Bernicia executive director of finance, said: “I am delighted that Kelly has joined the Bernicia team.   “Kelly is joining Bernicia at an exciting time. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience and is a fantastic appointment.” #seniorleadership #finance #director

VIDEO: 🎥 Jeff Cook is looking forward to cheaper bills in his more energy efficient home – one of the final properties to be upgraded in our £8m programme delivering new technology into 826 properties. Our contractor 0800 Repair fitted Solar PV panels to the roof of Jeff’s home in Bedlington – storing and generating power for his property, one of 29 Bernicia houses in the estate fitted with panels. We’ve completed this major project ahead of schedule, delivering a range of retrofit works to Jeff’s home and hundreds of others across Northumberland as part of Wave Two of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). The Department of Energy, Security and Net Zero provided grant of £3.4m to part fund the project with Bernicia investing the rest of the finance. The Government’s target timeline was to spend all grant before the end of March and complete all works by the end of September. We’ve delivered all works by mid-February, making tenant’s homes warmer and using energy more efficiently to cut bills. The retrofit work comprises: ✅ Cavity wall insulation in 133 homes ✅ Under floor insulation in 23 properties ✅ Loft insulation in 538 houses ✅ Solar PV in 572 homes ✅ New double glazed windows in 93 properties ✅ New heating temperature and time zone controls in 132 houses ✅ Air source heat pumps in 154 homes The completion of the latest SHDF funding wave keeps Bernicia well on course to meet our corporate strategy target of having 90% of our homes meeting EPC ‘C’ rating by March next year, four years before the Government said this work must be completed to make homes more energy efficient. Jeff, 51, who has lived in his home in Burnside for five years, said: “I’ve had the solar panels fitted and the work went really well. It took about six to seven hours. It’s absolutely tremendous and hopefully will save me money with my bills." Thomas Beresford, Bernicia Head of Asset and Retrofit, said: “The Solar PV we’ve installed at Jeff’s home will raise its energy efficiency and he will have the chance to sell any unused electricity back into the grid. “This will help reduce his bills making his home more energy efficient. It’s great news for Jeff and all our tenants who’ve had these energy efficiency measures fitted into their homes.” #retrofit #solarPV