Annual Report Overview of 2006

Chairman's and Chief Executive's Report

We can think of no better way to begin this year's Report than to repeat the tribute we paid last year to the support we receive from everyone who is involved with our work. Our sincere thanks are due to Trustees and other Committee members; staff; a range of advisors and partners; and not least those residents who participate in our work so willingly and who help influence the decisions we take.

These are interesting, challenging and rewarding times for all involved with Bournville Village Trust. As ever, it is impossible to cover all the important issues in a brief report such as this, but a number of highlights stand out.

It seems that just about everybody is talking about global warming and the future of the planet. The Trust has a long and proud tradition in the environmental arena, making commitments which were often pioneering in nature. It is remarkable that our "sunshine homes" in Bournville date back to the 1920s and they still provide natural warmth today, almost 90 years later. Technology has of course moved on significantly in the meantime and our current projects at Shenley and Lightmoor incorporate much of the latest thinking. We believe that the Lightmoor project in Telford will be the largest development in the UK to date to achieve an Eco-Homes "excellent" rating. The next phase of our work at Shenley is expected to achieve a saving of up to 60% in carbon emissions. We believe that projects like these help to point the way forward for the house building industry generally as we aim to respond to the Government's challenge to build carbon-neutral homes by 2016.

The benefits of our approach extend crucially to our tenants because a well insulated, energy efficient home is also a lowcost home in terms of fuel bills.

So, we are pleased with the progress we are making in terms of a "greener" approach to new projects but our commitment to the environment extends to all aspects of our work. During 2006 we set up a multi-disciplinary team of officers to ensure that we bring a more sustainable approach to everything that we do. Also, it has not escaped our attention that 85% of the homes which will be around in the next 20 years have actually already been built. With that in mind we are creating an Eco-Home demonstration project involving an empty home in Selly Oak Road. This is being equipped with high levels of insulation, a ground source heat pump, solar panels, a wind turbine, low energy lighting and a range of other low carbon initiatives. We expect to learn a lot from this project which will stand us in good stead as we develop our environmental commitments further.

Finally, the following important issues are outlined in more detail later on in the Report:

• The tenant satisfaction surveys that tell us we provide a very good housing management and repairs service.
• The encouraging progress being made at Lightmoor with our Joint Venture partners, English Partnerships. The vision is to create a 21st Century Shropshire Village, equivalent to Bournville.
• Being chosen as the affordable housing provider at Lawley in Telford, in partnership with the Beth Johnson Housing Group.
• A tribute to Veronica Wootten who retired during 2006 after nearly 40 years' service as a Trustee with a welcome to her replacement, Paul Sabapathy who brings a wealth of experience from elsewhere. We have no doubt that he will contribute enormously to our future success and we welcome him on board.

We are proud of the work of BVT and we hope you enjoy reading this Annual Report. Ours is a successful organisation but success doesn't come easily or automatically. It comes with a great deal of commitment and hard work.