Alliance Homes is celebrating a key milestone, with its total number of homes across the West of England now reaching 7,000. The landmark highlights the organisation’s commitment to playing its part in tackling the housing crisis in the region, with an ambition to build 2,000 new affordable homes by 2033.
To mark the occasion, Alliance Homes’ Service Director for New Homes, Sarah McQuatt, met with one of the housing association’s newest customers, Samantha and David Mildon, who recently moved into a new build home with their daughter Bella. Their four-bed, end of terrace home is part of the Parish Brook development in Nailsea, which is delivering 51 affordable homes to the area, including 42 for social rent and nine for shared ownership.
Samantha’s story shows the impact that safe and secure affordable housing can have on families. Before moving to Parish Brook in December 2024, she and her family lived in a privately rented home that felt too small, was expensive to heat and didn’t offer them long-term stability. The new home has given them much-needed space and security, particularly for Bella, who is blind and has autism and epilepsy.
Samantha said: “Moving into this house has made such a big difference to our lives - we feel like we’ve won the lottery, and every aspect of our lives has improved.
"Before, Bella would have multiple meltdowns a day. Now it’s maybe once a week – and usually triggered by her epilepsy rather than her environment. “The open-plan layout has given Bella more confidence to move around, something she lost after she became blind. We now also have the space for her to receive medical treatments at home and even room for respite carers to stay overnight. Our new home has made us all much calmer, happier, and more confident for the future. This is somewhere we can put down roots and really grow.”
David explained how the energy-efficiency of the home has also helped with heating bills. “We only need to put the heating on for an hour in the morning, and it stays cosy for the rest of the day.”
Sarah McQuatt said: “It’s fantastic to celebrate this milestone and to see first-hand the difference a secure, affordable home can make to a family like Samantha and Bella’s. I’m so pleased to see them flourishing in their new home.
“At Alliance, we want to do our bit to tackle the housing crisis in our region, and we build around 175 new affordable homes each year. Our ambition to build 2,000 new affordable homes by 2033 will help more local people and families access secure, well-built homes in the future.”