Ashdown House, Hastings

There is a pressing need for more lower-cost and affordable housing, with research indicating that England needs 340,000 new homes a year until 2031 to tackle the housing shortage, including 90,000 for social rent. This need is particularly acute in urban areas, where 68% of the world population will be living by 2050.

By investing in housing, Bridges is helping to tackle this fundamental shortage of supply, while also enabling local employment and positive regeneration of these areas. At the same time, we look to incorporate leading environmental and sustainable features into the construction and building design, to support the decarbonisation of the built environment.

Planning consent was obtained in January 2022 for a residential scheme comprising 151 family housing units, including 17 affordable units for low- and medium-income families, alongside a 20,000 sq.ft retail store.

Demolition and ground works followed best-practice environmental guidelines, while sustainable measures were included in the planning application such as appropriate materials and energy- and water-efficient technologies, which were expected to save over 80% of CO2 emissions per
year over the baseline. By refurbishing this dated property, we were able to provide much-needed housing while also contributing to the positive regeneration of that area of Hastings.