Aston Group deliver £5.8 million in community engagement

A procurement strategy designed to maximise the added benefit of every pound spent by the council has provided more than £47 million in social-economic and environmental value since 2020, according to Waltham Forest Council’s latest Social Value Report.

Released in early September, the report measures the performance of the council’s investment programme in generating meaningful and positive economic, social and environmental sustainability impacts.

By collaborating closely with local suppliers, additional social value unlocked by the council has included 700 sustainable local jobs, the diversion of 7,279 tonnes of waste from landfill and an estimated £12 million in local economy spend.

Through working with the council’s Housing, Maintenance and Repairs team, repair contractor Aston Group alone delivered more than £5.8 million in community engagement benefits since 2020. This has included the provision of free healthy cooking classes for low-income families, personal hygiene hampers for sheltered and temporary accommodation residents, and employability sessions for the unemployed.

Read more about Aston Group's Social Value strategy here

Despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the redevelopment of Soho Theatre Walthamstow – previously the EMD/Granada Cinema – has tripled the project’s social value target, providing 72 sustainable local jobs and accredited construction job courses for local long-term unemployed through Willmott Dixon’s Building Lives Academy.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Grace Williams, said: "Taxpayers expect the highest possible value for money and this report shows how Council decisions are passing real benefits directly onto local communities.

“Waltham Forest residents have seen more than £47 million in added socio-economic and environmental value since 2020 as a result of our investment approach and we are determined to build on the success outlined in the Social Value Report.”

The council established a dedicated Social Value function in December 2020 under its Return on Investment (RoI) remit to shape the borough’s investment programme through social, economic and environmental sustainability considerations, cutting across the Waltham Forest Council’s six ‘borough missions’.

The annual Social Value Report has since seen a marked year-on-year social value increase measured against the wellbeing and resilience of local residents, community groups and businesses.