We were created through the merger of Jephson and Raglan housing associations, formed in 1969 and 1976 respectively to help meet the critical need for new, safe and affordable homes after the war.
With the sector feeling the economic pressures of the 2008 financial crash, Jephson and Raglan began exploring the possibility of joining together to increase their effectiveness and provide a better service for customers.
In 2014, the merger was given the green light, with Stonewater beginning operations on January 5 2015.
Today we have 40,000 homes and proudly serve over 93,000 customers. Like 60 years ago, our vision remains the same; for everybody to have the opportunity to have place that they can call home.
Learn more about Jephson and Raglan below.
Raglan Housing Association
Raglan Housing Association was formed in 1976 after two voluntary groups approached Poole Borough Council to build housing for disabled people. In 1993, a merger with Astra Housing Association increased their total stock to 6000 homes.
George Blunden, Chair of Raglan (2009-2014, pictured):
"We realised we weren’t big enough in the modern world to be able to do a better job for the tenants that we had, and to actually build more homes for people that needed homes. It was obvious we needed to start thinking about how we put the business together with something else to be able to be more effective and more efficient.”
Jephson Housing Association
In 1969, Jephson Housing Association was established in the West Midlands, before joining forces with Marches Housing Association and expanding in 1996. By the end of 2014, Jephson managed over 16,000 affordable homes.
Bob Strachan, Jephson Chief Executive Officer (1988-2014, pictured):
"Two organisations together could do more than the two organisations could do separately. It was about coming together from a position of strength, rather than one of weakness.”
Our colleagues
Over the last ten years, Stonewater has grown into one of the UK’s leading social housing providers thanks to colleagues using their expertise to drive meaningful change for customers.
Since our formation, we have built more than 7,000 new homes, supported thousands of customers through the Longleigh Foundation, created an award-winning culture committed to inclusivity, established ourselves as a leading sector voice in identifying sustainable practices, and much, much more.
We know that our success is down to our people, so we aim to provide an exceptional place to work for our colleagues, making sure they are engaged, developed and equipped to deliver the customer-centric services we are so proud of.
Customers at the heart of everything we do
Over the last 10 years, we have developed and introduced services to ensure our customers don’t just survive but thrive. A Stonewater home is more than just a place to live. Customers can access support into employment, volunteering and training, help with managing money, and much more.
Our customer engagement groups, like our Scrutiny Panel and Community Champions, are a real driving force for change, helping to shape our services by telling us what matters to them.
Our aim to be a truly customer-driven organisation remains today by building relationships founded on respect, honesty, transparency and a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
The Longleigh Foundation
Longleigh was set up by Stonewater in late 2015 after recognising that many of our customers – in both independent and supported housing – and the communities they are a part of, had needs which were not being met.
Today, this motivation remains as relevant as ever, if not more as people around the country navigate the cost of living crisis.
Aileen Edmunds, Longleigh’s Chief Executive, says:
“Our work has helped families with additional needs struggling with debt, to supporting communities through the lockdowns. And we won’t stop there. Longleigh will continue to make a difference through partnerships with the social housing sector.”
Homes for everyone
Introduced in 2015, Stonewater Homes provides a dedicated service for our leasehold properties, including Shared Ownership, Rent to Buy, Right to Buy and Right to Acquire. For more information, visit Stonewater Homes.
We also provide several supported living services, including retirement living properties for older and vulnerable people, young people’s foyers, domestic abuse refuges, mental health and additional needs support, and safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.
Read more on the difference these services make.
2000th home
Our 2000th newly built home since forming is in Evercreech, Somerset.
Marked by an event in 2018, the development highlights Stonewater’ commitment to rural housing and the importance role of partnerships in delivering homes in our 10-year history.
We worked with family-owned construction firm Winsley White, Evercreech Parish Council and Homes England to deliver these homes.
5000th home
The former Parker Pen factory in Newhaven, East Sussex, was the site of our 5000th newly built home in 2023.
Over the last decade, we have installed public art that conveys a distinct narrative of place to have foster thriving communities at our new developments.
The Newhaven scheme features unique ‘pen nib’ totem and decorative metallic bollards.
7000th home
In 2024, we celebrated the 7000th newly built home in Hosforth, Leeds. The Calverley Lane development showcases our commitment to building sustainable and efficient homes that benefit our customers.
Take Cery Pyper, a mum who lives in our 7000th home. Since moving in, the family have seen their bills nearly halved. She said: “It’s making a huge difference on our family life.”
The Blunden Prize
Every year we hold the Blunden Prize – a national public art competition to give both established and emerging artists from all over the country the chance to deliver public art at our developments.
We also explore ways to make our installations accessible to all, so that everyone can enjoy the public art.
2022-23 winner Patrick Walls said: “The team at Stonewater are really supportive and the Blunden Prize has given me the opportunity to develop ambitious ideas for public art across five different sites; each sculpture specific to its location yet forming a collective body of work.”
Shaping the future of social housing
Our ambition is to be a leading voice in the industry, as well as a champion of causes that will bring about positive change for our customer, the housing sector and the environment we live in.
Stonewater’s growth over the last ten years has been central to this aim – the merger between Jephson and Raglan started our journey, and joining forces with other housing associations over the decade has allowed us to give more people the opportunity to have a place that they can call home.
Mount Green Housing Association joined the Stonewater Group in 2024, bringing benefits and new homes to customers and communities across Surrey, where they are based.
It came more than a year after Greenoak Housing Association also became part of Stonewater, leading to the creation of the Greenoak Centre of Excellence. The collaborative thought leadership initiative identifies and highlights the most effective routes for the housing sector to achieving a zero-carbon future and includes decarbonisation across all activities and adaption of our homes.
Stonewater’s first large scale retrofit project took place in 2020. Since then, the Greenoak Centre of Excellence has continued to uncover the best practices and sustainable measures that really work for our customers, our businesses and our planet.
Read more about our thought leadership work.