About Cala
Cala Homes
Cala Homes, part of the Cala Group, is a major UK housebuilder and leading provider of desirable new homes across the South East of England, the Midlands and Scotland.
Founded in 1875 as the City of Aberdeen Land Association, Cala has a long history in successful land management before beginning house building in the 1970s.
Today Cala is a subsidiary of Legal & General Capital, the early-stage investment arm of Legal & General Group. Legal & General has been involved in housing for nearly 20 years and has a multi-tenure housing strategy, which Cala is now part of.
Each year we deliver over 2,500 homes, over a fifth of which are affordable, and we contribute tens of millions of pound to infrastructure.
We are passionate about creating vibrant and sustainable communities. We build aspirational homes with sensitivity and consideration, ensuring our developments become part of the communities in which they are built.
Find out more below.
Sustainability strategy
Here at Cala, our approach to sustainability has come into sharp focus. The impact of the construction sector has become a growing area of concern for our board, our staff and our customers.
We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and are actively working towards our targets of building homes that are operationally net zero carbon enabled from 2030, and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Scottish Government’s 2045 target and ahead of UK Government’s 2050 target.
Our roadmap to net zero includes exciting research and testing of various innovations and technology, to ensure we make the right choices for the planet and our customers. We’re also working closely with utility providers to inform discussions around the decarbonisation of the grid and to ensure the required infrastructure is in place.
We want to enable our customers to live sustainably in communities that support biodiversity too and we have developed our Urban Wildlife Strategy which seeks to deliver wildlife-friendly measures across all our developments, helping species such as birds, bats, bees and hedgehogs.
For further information about our national urban wildlife strategy, please click here
Cala in the community
Cala has always been committed to making a positive and lasting contribution to local communities. We seek to build long-term partnerships during the life of our developments through an active programme of community support.
Our school outreach programme includes presentations on site safety, educational visits to our sites, and informing young people on the career opportunities in housebuilding.
Each year we support hundreds of local causes across the UK by giving local groups, schools and charitable organisations the opportunity to apply for a share of a Bursary pot in their area. To date we have supported over 400 causes with funding.
Cala’s Community Pledge
At Cala, we are committed to bringing added value and meaningful benefit to the communities in which we build, not just through the homes we create, but by investing and enhancing in the very essence of what brings a local community together. We want to listen, take action and make a difference.
To reflect our commitment to our communities over the lifecycle of our developments, we have introduced our Community Pledge. Our pledges bring together a host of bespoke measures for each local community including activities, donations, initiatives, volunteering drives and much more.
Each Pledge will start from the conception of the development, right through to the last resident picking up the keys to their new home – and everything will be done in collaboration with the communities we seek to support, to make sure we address genuine local needs.
For more information about Cala’s Community Pledge, please click here
Windmills Opportunity Playgroup received £2,000 from our South Home Counties region which paid for outdoor play equipment.
Soham Town Youth Football Club receives £1,000 cash boost from Cala Homes North Home Counties’ for pitch improvements and to replace outdated equipment.
The Sporting Aces offers sport and social activities to adults, children and young people with a range of physical, learning and communications difficulties, and was awarded £1,000 by Cala Homes West.
Quality and design
Cala is synonymous with exceptional design and build standards. Quality is at the heart of everything we do and you will see this across our developments.
Our design ethos is shaped by the desire to create homes and communities that reflect and enhance their setting and meet the needs of modern lifestyles.
Cala’s in-house teams and external designers work closely with local planners and communities to create architectural solutions that ensure the aesthetics of our homes and the materials used are sympathetic to the local environment and leave a lasting legacy to be proud of.
Each of our developments follows a carefully considered brief reflecting the influence of the local environment, market research and community consultation.
Considerate construction
We appreciate that the construction of new homes can affect those living and working in the immediate area, so we aim to keep disruption to a minimum.
Carefully planned construction and traffic management plans are created with our health & safety teams prior to building work commencing. We communicate with local residents to inform them of the nature and duration of any forthcoming work, which is likely to impact people locally.
We take our responsibility for protecting wildlife and watercourses very seriously. Every site has a tailored approach and we work with independent ecologists to assess our sites prior to planning, to ensure we do all we can to preserve and enhance the biodiversity on our sites.
Economic footprint
Housebuilding plays an important role in the UK economy. From job creation and investment in local services to addressing our current chronic housing shortage, the new homes industry is a key driver of growth.
According to the Home Builders Federation, every £1 spent on housing puts £3 back into the economy.
Private sector housing makes a substantial investment in local infrastructure, education and community facilities. Agreed with local authorities as part of the planning process, the industry contributes millions every year; much needed investment that otherwise would not be available.
Every year, as an industry, we fund new schools, health centres, sport facilities, and improvements in roads and public transport. Hectares of public land is also reclaimed through the creation of green open spaces, play areas and the opening up of disused land.
Affordable housing
Our design ethos extends to our affordable homes as we continually look at innovative ways to make them even more affordable without compromising on space or specification. We also understand the importance of building a wide range of homes that enhance and add value to local communities, bringing residents together. Keeping a focus on understanding the communities we are working with, we seek to work with Housing Associations and Registered Providers who have a presence in the area and a good knowledge of the local community.
Land off Water Lane – Community consultation
Cala Homes is promoting this site – Land off Water Lane, Melbourn – as part of the Local Plan’s Call for Sites which will determine which land parcels should be developed in the Local Plan period. We’re currently in the very early stages of plans for the site and we would like you to tell us what your priorities are for Melbourn going forward. Click below to find out more information about the site.
Contact
Thank you for visiting this website and viewing our plans for Melbourn.
If you are unable to access information on this website please contact Alex Cowley at: alexcowley@meeting-place.uk and we can arrange for it to reach you by an alternative way.
For any press or technical enquiries, please contact: alexcowley@meeting-place.uk