Cooking up savings for social housing

A North East housing collaboration is set to cut costs and boost local employment through a major joint investment in kitchen installations.

Eight members of the North East Housing Partnership have joined forces with Cramlington-based manufacturer JTC Furniture to deliver a coordinated programme for fitting new kitchens in social homes.

Facilitated by procurement specialist Prosper, the partnership will see housing providers pool their investment plans, with projected savings of more than £10 million over the next decade.

The initiative brings together organisations including Karbon Homes, Gentoo, Bernicia and Thirteen Group, aligning specifications to improve efficiency while ensuring consistent quality for residents.

Savings are expected to come from standardising kitchen designs and reducing waste, with a new recycling approach set to cut disposal costs and support a more circular economy.

John Johnston, chair of the North East Housing Partnership, said: “Our members have been collaborating across many different areas, looking to achieve efficiency and cost savings by working closely together while maintaining a great service for our customers.

“Working with Prosper and JTC, this project enables us to pool our planned investment and deliver huge savings – while generating social value and jobs for our local communities.”

Rod Brasington, chief executive of Prosper, added: “This is a perfect example of what can be achieved through true collaborative partnership working.

“We have been working with our landlord partners and JTC to determine their requirements, constraints and issues and developed a value engineered proposal that not only creates cost savings, but also provides sustainability initiatives, reduces waste management costs, creates local employment opportunities and provides social value contributions.

“The potential scale of this collaboration is huge and I’d like to thank JTC and those NEHP partners already committed to the project for their strategic foresight and vision of what can be achieved.

“With everything included, over the next ten years, this kitchen collaboration could potentially save more than £10 million. 

“This is a significant achievement for the sector and represents one of the first collaborative partnerships of its kind nationally and it is based in Prosper’s North East heartland which is brilliant for the region.”

To support the scheme, JTC has secured a ten-year lease on a new 10,000sq ft assembly and distribution hub in Cramlington, strengthening its regional presence.

The expansion is also creating local job opportunities, with new roles already filled and further positions expected as the partnership grows, alongside pathways into employment for social housing residents.

Colin Tweddell, executive director – social housing at JTC, added: “We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Prosper and NEHP members to support them with the supply and distribution of kitchens over the next ten years. 

“Our investment in the region and our growth in the North East is supported with over 38 years’ experience in the sector and we have further demonstrated our commitment by securing our new distribution hub here in Cramlington.

“We have been working closely with partners to determine the current specification of their kitchen ranges and using this data to help us create a streamlined specification that will boost manufacturing, ordering and cost efficiency. 

“We are very excited to see how this partnership evolves and look forward to working with Prosper and our NEHP partners.”

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