Places & Communities

Engagement and Partnerships 

On every site our ambition is to help create a place where people feel connected, proud of their home and able to influence what goes on.   

We have a Communities Framework and engagement guidance that set out our key principles: being open, inclusive, long-term, proportionate and collaborative.  

We are dedicated to involving local stakeholders early in the process and empower our teams to develop engagement strategies that reflect the unique needs of the community.   

This approach helps us to develop lasting relationships with a network of local people, businesses and organisations. 

We will: 

• earn the trust of local people by continuing to put our Communities Framework and engagement guidance into practice. 

Design and Physical Infrastructure

We choose well-located sites and invest in infrastructure to connect them with the surrounding community.   

We select design teams with the skills to deliver high-quality, bespoke places that respond to the site's heritage.  

We will: 

• continue to prioritise the delivery of public amenities, affordable homes, and welcoming natural spaces, so the wider community feels the benefits of regeneration at an early stage. 

Placeshaping and Stewardship

Each masterplan follows our Communities Framework, and as part of this our teams create bespoke Community Plans for each development. This provides a structured approach to creating and maintaining thriving neighbourhoods. Through these Community Plans we provide events and initiatives that promote a sense of belonging for both residents and people living around our sites, so they can all enjoy the public amenities and open spaces on offer.  

We will: 

• work with estate management companies to ensure long-term success of our places. 
• improve information sharing with people who are invested in the site’s future, including establishing Community Trusts and residents’ groups where needed. 
• assess people’s quality of life on our developments where possible, or produce impact reports by working with external experts. 

Local Employment and Skills

Our dedicated Employment & Skills leads connect local people with employment and skills opportunities, with Berkeley and our supply chain.  They focus on getting people into lasting work and drive progress against our S106 obligations, enabling apprenticeships and work experience placements across our sites and offices.  

We actively engage with schools, colleges and community groups to champion careers in the built environment, creating a future pipeline of talent and helping people to understand what roles are available on sites near to them.  

We also consider local procurement and spend as an extension of this, as supporting the local economy creates jobs around our sites.   

We will: 

• continue to run bespoke Employment & Skills programmes to benefit people living in the communities where we work. 

Maximising the Impact of the Berkeley Foundation

The Berkeley Foundation supports young people and their communities in the areas where Berkeley works.   

It supports front-line charities to take on big societal issues like homelessness, unemployment, and health & wellbeing. This directly benefits communities around our sites and helps our local authority partners to tackle social challenges.  

We leverage skills and expertise from across the Group to support the Berkeley Foundation's charity partners, linking people with job and training opportunities and getting involved in community projects. Our teams also fundraise, and engage our supply chain on these important causes.   

We will: 

• continue to connect people living in the communities where we work with Berkeley Foundation partners.