“We Live and Breathe It”: Inside Housing Development in the Vale

30 June 2026

Following the release of the latest Welsh Housing Monitoring Report earlier this year - which highlighted strong progress in the Vale – one of our Housing Development Officers Jonathan Lewis shared a short reflection with colleagues about his team’s passion for the housing projects they deliver.

Jonathan himself has worked in housing and construction for over 15 years, starting his journey with the Vale as a Clerk of Works on the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) programme. 

Early in his career, he worked across hundreds of tenanted homes, delivering essential upgrades such as kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems: “It was an eye opener… going into people’s houses and seeing how people live and what they had to put up with. Giving them new kitchens and bathrooms is great - people were really appreciative of it.”

That experience shaped his commitment to housing and set the foundation for the role he performs today.

Now a Development Officer, Jonathan is involved in every stage of housing delivery - from identifying land and navigating planning, through to construction and final handover. 

It’s a complex process that can take years and requires constant coordination, problem-solving and persistence: “It’s like living and breathing it - you’re seeing it from a piece of grass and turning it right the way into homes.”

Large complex projects can take around four years to move from concept to completion, with challenges along the way ranging from planning constraints and environmental considerations to funding applications and contractor management. 

Despite this, Jonathan and the rest of the housing development team continue to deliver a wide range of schemes - from large new-build developments to innovative refurbishments of existing buildings to meet an urgent housing need.

They’ve also adapted how they work to improve outcomes and reduce risk, taking a more hands-on approach to managing construction.

Jonathan explained that this shift has involved moving away from reliance on large principal contractors and instead directly managing and appointing subcontractors: “We’ve managed to bring costs down because we aren’t having to pay the overhead and profit margin big principal contractors charge.

“We can see exactly what’s happening day-to-day and we can query things straight away.”

Overall, the changes have resulted in a more direct delivery model with greater visibility, reduced risk, and improved outcomes for completed schemes.

Alongside delivering new homes, Jonathan and the team place a strong emphasis on community benefits as part of their wider work.

One recent example is the relocation and reuse of a climbing wall originally installed on the side of Cowbridge Magistrates’ Court. Rather than being removed and disposed of, the structure was carefully dismantled and rebuilt at a local primary school, where it is now in active use by pupils.

These types of projects reflect the broader social value delivered through housing development activity in the Vale – often through initiatives such as community benefits programmes.

However, for Jonathan, the real impact of the work is most clearly felt at the point when housing projects are completed and homes are handed over to residents: “It’s really, really fulfilling because some of the people moving in have come from homes that are sometimes overcrowded, poor quality or they may even be homeless.

“We’ve had people on site and it’s almost like they’ve won the lottery. These are high-quality homes - properties that on the open market could be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds — and yet people are being given that opportunity at an affordable social rent.

“We’re always there on handover day. We do the final checks, take the meter readings, and that’s the cut-off point where the home passes over to them.

“When you know you’ve built that house to the highest quality, and you’re handing it to someone who’s sometimes had very little, you do think to yourself - it’s all worthwhile. And I know the team feel the same way too.”