Back in 2021, we joined four other housing associations to create Independent East with the idea of being a collective voice for social house in the area.

We came together with Broadland Housing Association, Havebury Housing Partnership, Orwell Housing and Saffron Housing Trust to form Independent East, with the aim of sharing knowledge, experience and good practice, as well as creating a collective lobbying voice for social housing in the region.

As a group, we describe ourself as being ‘made up of independently minded, and individually sustainable, housing associations with similar and complementary values and business objectives based in Norfolk and Suffolk, which are willing to share knowledge and experience; to support each other in the delivery of our individual corporate strategies, and to explore opportunities to work better together.’

The five organisations have established a number of operational senior management forums to explore the potential for common approaches – although the bodies will continue to operate independently of each other.

James Francis, chief executive at Saffron Housing Trust, said: “When you are part of a large and complex system that works to reduce inequality and create a fairer society, being great organisations to work with is just as important as being great organisations to work for.

“We are currently working together on some exciting projects for tenants and colleagues to get involved in which we hope will show how we all become better when we collaborate.”

Andrew Smith, chief executive of Havebury, added: “We all work better when we work together, which will benefit not only our tenants but tenants across the region as we share and collaborate.”

You can also read more about this and our regional voice panel over on myFreebridge.