About the PlaceShapers Group

We are a national group of around 50 community based housing associations formed in 2008. We own close to 300,000 homes between us, provide services to nearly one million people and employ over 70% of our staff locally. Together we completed over 21,000 new affordable homes in 2006/7 - 2009/10 and as at May 2010 we had plans to invest around £2.7bn to deliver a further 20,000 new homes.

We came come together as a lobby group because we see the importance of working in depth with partners at a local level to achieve real improvements within an area. Good housing is the bedrock for a decent life and we are conscious of our pivotal role as change agents. Unemployment, crime, poor health, low educational achievement are all linked so what we do as housing organisations to help residents, local government and other agencies work together can make a huge difference to lives.

Our members understand the strategic priorities of central and local government and contribute to their delivery as close and valued partners. Never before has there been a time when getting these partnerships right is so crucial. We distinguish ourselves as a group because we are committed to local focus. Some associations have become very large through mergers and have lost the ability to engage properly because of excessive scale or spread. We believe that it is crucial to remain truly accountable at the local and regional level. We are already doing a fantastic amount of good work in partnership with government, agencies and most importantly our customers who are ultimately the reason for our being. We are an important part of the future and are delighted by the impact our group has already had in these changing and challenging times.