Cala Homes (North) has launched a major initiative set to expand support for the local communities in which it builds.
The Community Pledge is a UK-wide intiative across Cala Group and will see bespoke programmes of activity created for each Cala development, including multiple new communities across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
The Pledges will have an impact on thousands of people across the UK as they are rolled out over the next two years.
Each Pledge will be developed by Cala’s teams on the ground and informed by the local community. While developments already contribute to communities through Section 75 contributions, Pledges will go above and beyond any planning obligations, giving additional value.
A host of tailored measures will be incorporated into each Pledge, addressing specific community needs, including donations, volunteering, learning programmes, support initiatives and much more.
The Community Pledge is an evolution of the many successful community programmes Cala has introduced over the years, including its Community Bursary which has provided over £400,000 worth of funding to more than 400 organisations and projects within communities across Scotland and England since 2016.
The Community Pledge will go one step further by bringing measurable, meaningful benefit to neighbourhoods through investing in and enhancing the very essence of what brings a community together.
The Pledges will include Cala’s new schools’ initiative, Land to Life, Showhome of Support – which supports local talent and businesses, and Stay Safe, Stay Away, a Health and Safety learning programme to raise awareness amongst young people of the dangers of playing on building sites.
The first Pledge for Cala’s North region has already been launched at TwentyFour, Rosemount in Aberdeen and includes initiatives such as a Showhome of Support, volunteers decorating and donating furniture to Samaritans’ Aberdeen branch, food bank donations and the creation of a sensory garden.
Mike Naysmith, Managing Director for Cala Homes (North), said: “People and communities have always been at the heart of what we do, and the Community Pledge is all about committing to the areas in which we build in a more meaningful way. Our goal is to directly impact the people around our developments and the places and organisations that matter to them.
“This gives communities in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and our partners such as local authorities, subcontractors and landowners, faith that we will not only deliver high quality homes, but that we’ll bring added value and leave a lasting, positive legacy.
“We’re proud to have launched our first Pledge at TwentyFour, Rosemount and look forward to unveiling more plans to support communities in the region as we roll out further Pledges this year.”
Cala’s developments in the Aberdeen area include Craibstone Estate, TwentyFour Rosemount, 22 King’s Gate, Southbank by Cala, Grandhome in Bridge of Don and Oldfold Village in Milltimber.
For more information on the Community Pledge visit https://www.cala.co.uk/social-value/community-pledge/