Annual Report 2025-26

In its first 12 months, Hedyn has lived up to its name by planting the seeds for a strong and resilient future. As those seeds begin to take root, we can already see the progress made in our first year and the promise of what lies ahead.

As Chair and Chief Executive, we have felt both the responsibility and the privilege of helping to guide Hedyn through this important first year. Bringing two organisations together is never just about structures, systems or processes; it is about people, purpose and trust. We have been encouraged by the commitment shown by colleagues, residents, partners and Board members as we have begun to shape Hedyn’s future together.

This year saw important progress in regenerating key places in Newport. The opening of the first phase of our Ringland scheme brought new homes, commercial space and renewed energy to the local community. At Stow Hill, work is progressing to transform a prominent city-centre site into new homes and commercial space, supporting both housing need and wider regeneration.

With 1,634 homes in our development pipeline and more planned, we are already seeing the benefits of bringing our predecessor organisations together. Hedyn gives us greater capacity to respond to growing housing need and to invest in the communities we serve.

We have also set a long-term vision for our existing homes: protecting their quality, modernising them for the future and keeping them safe, warm places that residents are proud to call home. Our strong safety compliance record, alongside better data on our homes, will help us invest where it matters most.

Our community work has delivered real impact, supported by investment secured through partnerships and community benefits schemes. By working with local strengths, communities and partners, we have targeted support where it can make the greatest difference.

Throughout the year, we have continued to shape our services around our Customer Promise. We are grateful to our Buzz resident group and Consultative Panel for challenging us to listen, learn and act on the voice of residents.

Behind the scenes, colleagues have worked with dedication and care through a period of significant change, bringing together services, teams, systems and processes after the merger. We thank them for their commitment, and we also thank Hed’s Up, our colleague engagement group, for sharing feedback, shaping decisions and helping us keep improving.

Internally, our first-year achievements include strengthened cyber security, including Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, delivery of our ELEVATE staff development programme, and progress on our equity, diversity, inclusion and sustainability commitments through Pride in the Port 2025 and our tree-planting partnership with Earthwatch Europe and Newport City Council.

As we look ahead, our focus is on turning the foundations of this first year into lasting progress. We will keep listening to residents, supporting colleagues, strengthening our services and investing in our homes and communities. The seeds planted this year are beginning to take root, and with commitment, ambition and shared purpose, we are confident Hedyn will continue to grow as a trusted organisation that makes a positive difference.

– Paula Kennedy (Hedyn CEO), and Lynda Sagona (Hedyn Board Chair)

Formed from the merger of Melin and Newport City Homes on 1 April 2025, Hedyn brings together shared expertise to create something greater. In our first year, we’ve already started to grow into one organisation, with strong foundations and our residents at the heart of what we do.

Our vision is to build connected communities where everyone can live well.

And our mission is simple: to make a positive difference. We want our residents to thrive and feel confident about their future.

Our strategy is our direction, and it’s guided by our values – to do the right thing, make it happen and be the difference.

We support residents and communities living in around 15,000 properties across south-east Wales.

We deliver our vision through ‘the Hedyn Way’, guided by our Strategic Planning Framework.

This framework houses our strategy and three vital areas: customer experience, growth and asset management. Together they set a clear foundation for delivery.

We want to make the most of our larger organisation to deliver better homes, stronger communities and improved services, but remain resident-led, sustainable and financially resilient. That’s why our priorities are:

• Customer – giving residents an exceptional experience
• Community – making sustainable homes and connected communities
• Colleague – creating empowered and trusted colleagues
• Capacity – maximising what we can achieve

We’re focused on delivering a great customer experience. That means listening to the customer voice to make sure they have safe, warm and affordable homes.

Customer experience

We deliver consistent, personalised services, shaped by listening, empowered colleagues, and better use of data and technology. This is set out in our Customer Experience Strategy.

Driven by the customer voice

We use insight to understand our residents and shape our services. Now our Customer Promise and Service Standards are part of everything we do, giving residents a more consistent experience and prioritising their needs.

Resident groups

Buzz

Buzz challenges us to make sure we’re listening and acting on what our residents say – and doing what we promised.

The right service

We’re focused on services that are reliable, personalised and right first time. This means taking a more proactive, insight-led approach instead of addressing things as they happen.

This will boost residents’ trust and satisfaction, and we’ll use Hedyn’s scale to deliver services more consistently and efficiently.

Listening, learning, improving

We’re a listening and learning organisation, and complaints play an important role in helping us improve. This year, we received 491 complaints, with over half relating to repairs which we know really affects customer experience. While services are performing well overall, feedback suggests there’s opportunity to improve communication, timeliness and getting things right first time. We review every complaint through our learning process so we can make practical changes, strengthen services and give residents a more consistent experience.

A person-centred approach

We see people, not just tenants. When one resident experienced a sudden loss of income due to ill health, we worked alongside them – giving them a hand with tailored, ongoing support to help their needs beyond just the tenancy.

Over two years, we supported them through a complex tribunal process, and in the end, the resident received over £15,000 in backdated payments and around £140 per week in ongoing support. They’re now more financially stable, confident and able to stay connected.

Safe homes

Keeping our residents safe is our highest priority – we’re committed to providing homes that are safe and secure.

We stay ahead of the game, using data and insight to spot any issues early and keep making our homes safer and better so our residents can live with peace of mind.

Energy-efficient homes

We’re improving our data to better understand our homes and plan their journey to lower carbon, in light of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023. While our homes already met the previous standard, the new one is shaping how we plan and invest in energy-efficient homes.

Improving quality of life

Following retrofit works including new heating, solar panels and triple glazing, John Nicholls, aged 94, told us his home is now “the best it has ever been”.

His energy costs have reduced, and he now has more control over his heating by using simple digital tools.

Affordable homes

We know the cost of living is rising, which is why we carefully set our rents to be affordable for residents, but allow us to continually invest in our homes. This year, our rent and affordability consultation received 1,126 responses, including feedback from residents across all five local authority areas and focus groups, to help us shape our fair and transparent approach to making homes affordable.

Our social purpose shapes how we work with our communities. By working with partners, we’re tackling inequality, opening opportunities and helping people thrive.

Build on strengths

We use our communities’ existing strengths, building on these and working with partners to target our support where it makes the biggest difference.

Creative theatre builds community connection

Residents enjoyed social and emotional connections at Westgate Court thanks to our partnership project with Reality Theatre.

They took part in creative theatre sessions designed to build confidence, spark imagination, and strengthen community connections. With no prior experience, they created their own characters, co-designed a script, and delivered an impressive performance in just a few months.

The project has helped residents express themselves, connect with others, and grow in confidence – showing just how powerful community-led activity can be.

Regenerate our communities

We recognise that improving homes must go hand in hand with strengthening communities.

So we’re working on a regeneration model that combines development, asset management and community work – ensuring our approach is joined up and locally focused.

Regenerating the Ringland community

We reached a proud milestone in the transformation of the Ringland community in Newport when its first phase opened this year. We’ve delivered 38 new homes and 12 modern commercial units, creating opportunities for people and businesses to thrive.

The wider programme will help to meet local housing need while supporting long-term regeneration, with 158 new homes across four phases, in partnership with Lovell, Newport City Council, Cardiff Capital Region and the Welsh Government.

A relocated and revitalised shopping centre has also created a stronger, more vibrant local centre for the community and supports economic growth alongside the new homes.

Deliver new homes

We’re responding to the housing emergency by building more homes in the right places, ensuring they’re high quality, affordable and sustainable.

We’ve set out in our Growth Strategy how we’ll scale up delivery while remaining financially strong and able to deliver well.

Stow Hill, Newport

Our Stow Hill development has transformed a prominent city-centre site into high-quality, modern homes for Newport.

We’ve delivered 36 new apartments, alongside space for three commercial units, helping to meet housing need while supporting the local economy.

The scheme has also created wider community benefits, including new local opportunities and support for community-led initiatives.

This reflects our approach to placemaking, making the most of existing places and creating homes that help people live well.

We’re building a culture where people feel supported and empowered to make a difference – because everything we do relies on skilled and engaged colleagues.

By investing in our people and creating an inclusive environment, we support better outcomes for residents and communities.

Great colleague experience

Our colleagues are central to our success. Over the past year, we’ve continued to build Hedyn as one organisation, supported by strong engagement and a shared commitment to creating a fair, modern and inclusive workplace.

One organisation

Following the merger, we launched a significant project to bring legacy organisations together as one. We unified terms and conditions, completed the sign-up to new contracts and moved from six legacy pension arrangements to one employer scheme, marking a major milestone in our journey.

Reward and benefits

In support of more consistent, fair and colleague-focused benefits, we launched a modern Total Reward offer. It combines an expanded core benefits package with a flexible scheme, offering 15 options such as enhanced medical cover, an electric vehicle scheme and home and technology vouchers.

Structure

We introduced a single HR platform with combined payroll, making things more accurate and it easier for colleagues to find information. Alongside this, we aligned structures, clarified roles and embedded a consistent approach to role evaluation and pay benchmarking. The reshaping of teams is nearly complete, helping us to serve our residents more effectively and in a joined-up way.

Listening and learning organisation

Listening has remained central throughout. Workshops, roadshows and ‘Heds Up’– our colleague engagement group – have influenced key decisions.

Survey results show colleagues remain committed to our residents, value their teams and feel positive about Hedyn’s future. This insight is informing ongoing action planning with leaders.

Support for colleagues has also been strengthened by development programmes for our leaders and aspiring leaders, as well as more focus on both listening to colleagues and their wellbeing.

ELEVATE: The Power of You

Colleagues across Hedyn have reported a clear growth in self-awareness, emotional intelligence and how they work with others after taking part in a learning programme, ELEVATE: The Power of You. They’ve also since developed a stronger understanding of their behaviours, adapted how they communicate, and applied practical tools to improve collaboration and decision making in their day-to-day roles.

These changes have helped to shape a more reflective, confident and adaptable organisation – supporting stronger teamwork, clearer communication and a more positive working environment. We’re going to build on this success by getting more colleagues involved in the programme and creating further opportunities for learning and reflection.

Positive environmental and social impact

Environmental sustainability

We’re committed to creating sustainable homes, communities and futures, shaped by the voices of our residents, as set out in our Pledge. This focuses on making energy-efficient homes, building resilience, supporting local action, and working with partners to be innovative and have lasting impact.

To do this, we’re being sustainable across our organisation and using insight to guide decisions. We’re taking practical action to reduce carbon, improve efficiency, protect biodiversity, and develop the skills and partnerships needed to make a meaningful difference.

Tiny forest

We were delighted to plant 600 trees on Ringwood Hill in only a small area, in partnership with Earthwatch Europe and Newport City Council. These trees will grow rapidly to become a vital carbon sink and a thriving habitat for wildlife within just a few years. It’s created a green legacy the whole community can enjoy for generations to come.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

We’re committed to equity, diversity and inclusion to create positive change both within Hedyn and the communities we serve. Through our new Pledge, policy and action plan, we’re focused on tackling inequality and supporting thriving communities.

We’re building a culture where everyone feels valued and respected, supported by clear goals, ongoing learning and regular reporting. We’ll continue to strengthen this work through recognised accreditations, including working with Tai Pawb towards the Quality in Equality and Diversity (QED) Award and standards such as Stonewall Housing.

Pride in the Port

We were proud to be a headline sponsor of Pride in the Port 2025, celebrating LGBTQ+ wellbeing, education and culture across Newport and beyond. The event created safe, inclusive spaces where communities could come together and feel valued.

Colleagues represented Hedyn at the Corn Exchange and joined the city-centre march, showing our support on a memorable day. We’re looking forward to building on this as Newport prepares to host UK Pride.

We know that how we work is just as important as what we deliver. Improving efficiency and using insight better is helping us build the capacity needed to deliver more.

Create capacity

We strengthened our focus on efficiency, data and planning. We developed our approach to value for money to make sure we use resources where they deliver the greatest benefit. And we also placed continuous improvement at the heart of our work to help us deliver services more consistently.

Integrating as one organisation

Getting the right foundations in place for Hedyn as a new organisation was our focus this year, along with setting clear strategies and financial plans to support what we want to achieve. We know that in some areas we’re still working in ways shaped by our legacy organisations, and that’s a natural part of bringing everything together. That’s why we’ve continued to invest in integrating our services, teams and digital systems, so we can deliver a more joined-up and consistent experience for our residents.

Lead the way

We’re using digital tech, data insights and innovation to improve services and efficiency. Our Technology Strategy sets out how technology supports better services, empowered colleagues and stronger communities. Using data to inform our approach helps us to better understand what’s needed and respond more effectively.

Secure systems

As we explore new technology, keeping our systems and data secure is essential. We strengthened cyber security across the organisation, including our Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, giving us a strong base to adopt new tools with confidence and maintain the trust of our residents.

Maximise impact

We’re using our capacity to deliver more for residents, communities and colleagues. Our focus is on targeting resources where they make the biggest difference and improving the services people rely on. We’re also investing in technology and new ways of working to improve efficiency and the resident experience.

Delivering value through procurement

We developed a new approach to procurement, ensuring every pound we spend delivers value. This gives us a clear, consistent and transparent way of working, aligned with best practice. We’re using procurement strategically to create social, environmental and economic benefits, as well as delivering value for money.

Making communication count

Our Communications and Marketing Strategy sets out how we position Hedyn as a trusted, ambitious and well-run organisation. It helps people understand, trust and engage with our work and the difference we make. By using clear, inclusive and targeted communication, we connect, engage and support our wider goals.

To read our annual report in full, including our financial statements, download our annual report (PDF 3.4MB – available in English only).

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