Yattendon Group

Ahead of their involvement in the South Coast Economic Growth and Development Conference we’re been speaking to Kristi Roger – Director at YG Development – looking at their ongoing projects across the region, their focus on creating desirable places to live, work and play, and their focus on enhancing local habitats….

Q. YG Developments is a new enterprise setup in early 2020 by the Yattendon Group – tell us a little about the formation of this new business and how it came about?

YG Developments (YGD) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Yattendon Group, a privately held group of companies owned by Lord Iliffe and family.  The group operates in a range of sectors including agriculture, media, marinas and estates management.  YGD was setup in 2020 in order to centralise our large scale, high risk development activity in one place and streamline operations.  YGD is preferred development partner to all other Yattendon landowning entities.

Q. One of your key focuses is sourcing land for development – where abouts are you focused on as a business? [emaillocker id=”71749″]

YGD has the ability to source land from our sister companies.  In the first instance, we are focussed on developing land owned by the MDL Marinas Group.  MDL owns some 20 marinas and associated waterfront land, and all development projects led by YGD are expected to lead to significant re-investment in the land-side marina operations and infrastructure in these areas.  As we have a substantial land portfolio to contend with already, we are not actively seeking new land, but we do look at opportunities all the time, and in particular, waterfront opportunities where we can add value through our sister company’s marina management expertise.

Q. How do you feel the marketplace is responding to the Coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, are you still actively being forward projects or has these been a pause until certainty disappears?

Personally, I have no direct experience of the Coronavirus or Brexit causing a slow down or cessation the property markets – however we are also not heavily exposed to retail.  What I have seen is a serious lack of engagement on the part of local authorities to focus on the future and to concentrate on the tangible benefits brought to the economy by a functioning planning and construction market.  I am optimistic that once politicians are able to stop firefighting, they will start to recognise the value that developers can bring to the economy and think more constructively about granting meaningful planning consents.

Q. One of your key focuses is creating desirable places to live, work and play – what do you feel are the key attributes in a development to make them happen?

Key attributes in any successful development – for us – is having a variety of mixed uses which builds on that which already exists in the local community.  We prefer not to reinvent the wheel, but to build upon what people, businesses and interests already exist in our various locations.  Mixed use, and lower reliance on the car is key.

Q. Waterfront land and property development is an area where you are experts. How does the approach here differ to that of say a city centre or rural locations?

In general, waterfront sites require two levels of consent – one from the Local Planning Authority and two from the Marine Management Organisation or MMO.  In addition, many of our sites have to contend with issues of ecology, flood risk, made ground and contaminated land.  This requires us to work with best in class professional consultant teams in order to deliver irrefutable and robust justifying reports.

Q. One of the challenges of waterfront development must be the impact on nature and the local ecology – what considerations are taken when you’re working on your projects in regard to this?

First of all we always comply with the requirements of the planning when making submissions.  So, all of the usual reports are produced, from Biodiversity Reports to Marine Habitats Regulations.  In addition to compliance, we try to consider enhancements to local ecology as part of the package of benefits delivered by any given project.  For instance, moving pathways away from bird nesting zones, lowering or controlling night time light levels, and restoring areas of saltmarsh within our control are all key benefits of our main projects.

Q. What projects are YG Developments currently involved in?

We are currently focussed on five main projects: Torquay, Ocean Village, Mercury and two sites on Hayling Island.  Torquay and Ocean Village are ‘city centre’ sites, while Mercury and Hayling are definitely more rural.  We have a series of additional, potential sites on the Thames, and an emerging project in Poole Harbour which may come forward soon too.

Q. In terms of procurement for such projects what is your usual route to market?

We have three routes to market.  We either partner with housebuilders who will build and sell, forward fund projects to a pre-agreed investor, or take all risk internally through planning, tender, construction and sales phases.  It really differs on a site by site basis.

Q. You’re set to be involved in the South Coast Economic Growth Conference – what are the benefits of being involved in such an event and who are you looking to meet on the day?

Being involved in the event gives us an opportunity to broadcast our aspirations, to network with others in the industry and to monitor how others are also seeing the systems and markets operate.  I am looking forward in particular to meeting Bill Cotton from BCP Council.

To register for the South Coast Economic Growth & Development Conference click here: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/south-coast-development-conference-2/

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