Award-winning charity backed by Larkfleet Homes

From time to time we come across a worthy charity that deserves support but that has been flying under our radar.

The Evergreen Care Trust is one of those. We decided to back the trust after it was named as ‘best social enterprise’ in the Stamford Mercury Business Awards – an award which were proud to sponsor.

So, we recently handed £250 to the Evergreen Care Trust to help with its Stamford Christmas Cracker appeal.

The Stamford Christmas Cracker campaign raises money to support the elderly community in Stamford, Bourne and the Deepings.

It is a giant raffle with more than £5,000 worth of prizes. A new winner is drawn every day in the 25 days running up to Christmas – and if you win one of the prizes your ticket goes back into the draw, so you could win again and again!

Tickets are on sale at Sowden Wallis Estate Agents in Star Lane, Stamford, or online from
www.tiny.cc/cracker.

We were really impressed with what we learned about the Evergreen Care Trust when we handed over the Stamford Mercury Business Award. We have been delighted to back the charity’s Christmas fundraising efforts.

Getting your home ready for Christmas

Today is the start of meteorological winter. And if you listen carefully you can probably hear the creak of millions of advent calendar windows being opened. Now it’s OK to start talking about Christmas in earnest.

If you really get into the festive season and enjoy all the entertaining that comes with it, you will now be thinking about preparing your home to receive guests.

Here are a few essentials to make sure your Christmas goes with a Ho! Ho! Ho!

1. Have a good clean and dust. Tidy up all the clutter and make yourself some space.
2. Have a think about your colour scheme. Are you going for cream and gold, traditional red and green, purple and gold – or something else? Make sure your choice complements your existing décor. This extends to the baubles and tinsel you choose for the tree
3. And talking of the tree, don’t forget to buy a fir or spruce that retains its needles – there’s nothing worse than hoovering up dropped pine needles every day. You could also consider buying a fake tree which you can bring out year after year.
4. Make sure you have all you need for entertaining in terms of crockery and serving dishes. Build your plans around what you already have.
5. Make things cosy. Use cushions and throws, and light candles to create a homely and timeless atmosphere.
6. If you are lucky enough to have a spare room or two, get them ready for your guests. If you are using them as dumping grounds for your ‘stuff’ give them a tidy so your guests have their own space.
7. Don’t skimp on towels and keep them in prominent view for your guests to see and use.
8. Make sure your heating and plumbing is up to scratch. There’s nothing worse than having to bundle up in winter woollies and coats indoors because the boiler has broken.

While we’re on practical matters, it’s worth noting that, according to statistics from the British Turkey Information Service, in the UK at Christmas we consume approximately 10 million turkeys, 25 million Christmas puddings, 250 million pints of beer and 35 million bottles of wine. Meanwhile, Santa chomps his way through roughly seven million mince pies left for him by children on Christmas Eve.

And with guests in the house to help you munch through all the food could add extra stress to your plumbing and make things even more uncomfortable for your guests so;

• Throw food scraps in the bin and put left over vegetable matter like sprout and potato peelings in the compost pile.  
• Avoid pouring grease down the drain, because grease hardens when it’s in your pipes and can cause a blockage over time. 
• Wipe off greasy plates and pans with a paper towel before washing them.

Keep coming back to the blog over the next few weeks as we bring you more tips for creating the perfect Christmas dinner and hosting the best New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night parties.

‘Amazing’ Larkfleet helps couple take the next step on the housing ladder

Recently engaged couple Liam Robinson (23) and Zoe Johnson (22) loved their first Larkfleet home so much that when they decided to take the next step on the housing ladder in Bourne, buying another Larkfleet home was a no-brainer.

The whole team at Larkfleet Homes is delighted to welcome Liam and Zoe to their new home.
Zoe told us: “This is our second home. Our first was also a Larkfleet property in Pinchbeck, around 15 miles away. We had been waiting 18 months to get the house we were after in Witham Crescent on Larkfleet's Bourne Heights development. Jackie the sales executive made this happen.

“Dean, the current site manager at Bourne Heights, was our site manager at Pinchbeck as well, so we knew that we would get a great service.”

The couple took advantage of the Larkfleet Homes Assisted Sale scheme. We arranged for Liam and Zoe’s old property to be sold and paid their estate agent fees, which allowed them to reserve the property that they wanted in Bourne.

Liam said: “We had to live in a caravan on my parents drive for three months while our house was being built – but it was worth it in the end!

“Elaine, Jackie, Maureen and Dean have all been amazing!

“Right from the start Jackie helped us get the house we wanted, and we always had a laugh when we went in to see her.

“And Dean has helped no end on other bits and pieces - any issues we have had, he's either sorted it straight away or sent someone round.”

It’s great to get such positive feedback from our customers and we wish Zoe and Liam many happy years in their new Larkfleet home.

The champagne flowed at the Peterborough Business Awards

The bubbly was flowing at a gala night celebrating the best in Peterborough Business this month. The Larkfleet Group team was pleased to be on hand to help by sponsoring the ‘Environmental Achievement’ award.

Environmental achievement and sustainability is very important to all of us at Larkfleet Homes. We are continually showing our commitment through innovations including the recently announced elevating house and our ‘grid neutral’ house. So, it made perfect sense for us to sponsor the category.

There were three finalists in the environmental achievements category of the awards, organised by the Peterborough Telegraph. They were Green Energy Switch, Hunt & Coombes and Investors in the Environment (IIE).

The worthy winner was Hunt & Coombes, one of the region’s leading law firms. It operates in diverse fields of the law including property, commercial, employment, personal injury, crime and mental health. 

We are told that winning the Peterborough Business Award was the culmination of many years commitment to environmental issues by the partners and staff. Over the past decade the firm has focused on continuously improving its environmental performance in relation to its services and operations.

Hunt & Coombes was the first law firm to be awarded the Investors in Environment Green Award, which it still holds. It is also three-times winner of the Great Green Star Award at the IIE Awards.

Daily monitoring of utilities means that the lawyers have made huge savings on their usage of gas, electricity and water. The firm has also reduced its waste to landfill and increased its recycling significantly. It also completed a Zero Waste Week Challenge in its Peterborough office. Almost 100 per cent of its waste was recycled; just 1.05 per cent was sent to landfill and on one of the five days it achieved its goal of zero waste to landfill!

Just like the Larkfleet Group team, Hunt & Coombs has always had a strong philosophy of supporting and serving the local community. Forging strong links with local schools and charities is at the heart of that.

Big congratulations to the Hunt & Coombes team, to both Green Energy Switch and Investors in Environment and to all the other winners and nominees on the night. It was great to be in such fantastic company.

Looking forward to being involved next year.

Time to think about your Christmas food

Most of us won’t have heard of it, but this Sunday is ‘Stir Up Sunday’. It’s the last Sunday before Advent. During Church of England services this Sunday one of the readings will have the words “Stir up, we beseech thee O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”.

In years gone by this was a reminder that now is the time to start making the matured Christmas pudding.

It is the time when the family gets together in the kitchen and mixes up the pudding. Everyone has a stir of the mixture and makes a wish for the coming season. The kitchen fills up with the smells of Christmas as the pudding is steamed.

We know that not everyone is a fan, but let’s face it - Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a figgy pudding.

There are numerous recipes out there for Christmas puddings. Our favourite is this one from Mary Berry, which can be found here.

If you’re anything likes us, you might not have time (or even want) to cook a Christmas pudding. This is when shop-bought puddings come into their own.

There are plenty to choose from and most major supermarket stock their own versions of this Christmas classic.

Here’s a list of the main ones;

• Aldi Specially Selected Golden Topped Christmas Pudding, 907g: £7.99*, Aldi (Serves 8)
• Iceland Luxury Christmas Pudding with a Brandy Sauce Centre, 907g: £6, Iceland (Serves 8)
• Lidl Deluxe 24 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, 907g: £11.99, Lidl (Serves 8)
• Morrisons The Best Pear and Pedro Ximenez Sherry Christmas Pudding, 800g: £8, Morrisons (Serves 8)
• Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Cognac Laced 18 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, 450g: £5, Sainsbury’s (Serves 4)
• Heston from Waitrose Persian Spiced Christmas Pudding, 800g: £14, Waitrose (Serves 8)

And while you’re thinking about your Christmas pudding it’s an idea to think about what else you’re going to serve on the big day. Will it be turkey, goose – or something novel? Keep an eye on our blog over the coming weeks as we pull together some tips to help you create the perfect Christmas.


*Prices may vary

Did you see us on TV?

We like to think we ‘punch above our weight’ at Larkfleet Homes. We are one of the top 50 builders in the UK in terms of the number of houses we produce – but, if we’re honest, we are only just in the top 50. And we are quite a way behind the really big builders.

So it was flattering that when the BBC wanted someone from the housebuilding industry to comment on the budget they didn’t go to one of the big builders. They came to us.

Our chief executive, Karl Hick, was interviewed live on BBC TV this afternoon, giving his views on the many things that Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond had said about housing and housebuilding in his speech in the House of Commons.

Of course, we have welcomed news that most first-time buyers will not now have to pay Stamp Duty. It will give a significant boost to the ability of young people to get onto the ‘housing ladder’, something that we’re really keen on at Larkfleet.

But in his TV interview Karl pointed out that one of the big challenges facing small and medium-sized housebuilders such as Larkfleet is the ability to get the cash we need to build more homes more quickly.

This was a topic that Philip Hammond specifically addressed during his budget speech, saying: “If we don’t do more to support the growth of the small and medium enterprise housebuilding sector we will remain dependent on the major national housebuilders that dominate the industry.”

He therefore announced measures such as new money for the Home Builders Fund “to get small and medium enterprise housebuilders building again” and a £630 million small sites fund to “unstick the delivery of 40,000 homes”.

He pledged that over the next five years the government would commit a total of at least £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees to support the housing market.

He also announced new funding for construction industry training, new infrastructure investment and the creation of new ‘garden towns’.

This is all good news for the industry. And that should mean it is good news for house buyers. And it has given us our 'five minutes of fame'!

Our photo shows Karl Hick live on air on BBC TV.

Colour trends for peace and mindfulness in your new home

Want to make your new home a peaceful refuge from the business of the day-to-day world outside but not sure what colours to choose to be 'on trend'? At Larkfleet Homes we have been web surfing, looking for some colour inspiration.

What did we find? Well, it looks like Dulux has made your choice nice and easy. Be on trend with your colour choices.

The Dulux colour of the year for 2018 is called Heart Wood, a light mauve/lilac colour. You can see visualisations of the colour on the Dulux website here. It’s a colour that will fit in with just about any design trend idea that is emerging for next year. And you can expect last year’s Dulux colour of the year Denim to compliment heartwood in colour palettes for your kitchen designs. Dark plum is also right on trend and will also compliment the Heart Wood palette.

Heart Wood is a subtle and warm tone of grown-up pink, it draws from the tactile qualities of natural wood and leather, conveying comfort and ease in response to consumers wanting to nestle down more and create a “welcome home”.

There’s a strong overarching trend of consumers wanting to transform their homes into spaces of retreat from the outside world. Think about the Scandinavian trend of Hygge.

As life gets faster, now is the time to press pause. Our home needs to be a place where we can turn down the noise, where we can nurture our values and recharge. Colour can play a significant role in addressing the balance between outside clamour and inner calm, according to Dulux.

We think that Heart Wood and its four complementary colour palettes will help you to achieve a home that is truly and uniquely yours, bringing a feeling of safety and reassurance, creating a welcome home for all.

Make your home your haven. Calming colours like Heart Wood capture the mood of the moment and allow you to live in perfect balance in your home. Use colour to make your home a place of harmony, comfort and ease for all. Combine gentle shades of grey-pink, blues and soft cocoa flowing into bolder shades of ink blue and purple.

Take inspiration from the tactile qualities of natural wood and the comfort of leather, materials that we often turn to during times of unpredictability. Calming and restorative, these colour palettes give a sense of connection between the inside and outside world.

We hope you have fun creating your own haven of peace and tranquillity.