Q&A: Claire Jarvis, managing director, David Wilson Homes North West

From 21-year-old sales advisor to one of the UK housebuilding sector’s few female managing directors, Claire Jarvis of David Wilson Homes shares her career journey, perspective on current market challenges and opportunities, and how parent company Barratt Redrow is shaping the future of homes through innovation and sustainability

How did you first get into housebuilding, and what key moments have shaped your career and the way you think about homes?

I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years and grew up on new build developments, which I loved. One day, while chatting to a sales advisor, they said, ‘I think you’d be good at this’. So I came into the industry as a sales advisor. At the time, I was considered quite young for the role, because there was a stereotype that sales advisors were older women. The sales manager who interviewed me said, ‘You’re a bit young, but there’s something about you, so we’ll give you a go’. I was 21.

I started as a sales advisor and worked my way up through the industry. I was fortunate to begin with a PLC housebuilder, then moved to Knight Frank, followed by Crosby Homes, which was heavily involved in the regeneration of Manchester after the bomb. It was a phenomenal time to work in the city centre and witness its transformation. I later returned to Knight Frank in Liverpool, running the residential office for 12 months.

I then moved back to the developer side. While I enjoyed agency work, the developer side allows you to control decisions, drive change, and see the legacy of what you create. I’ve been a managing director for six years – three and a half with Redrow and the past two and a half with Barratt Redrow.

How would you describe your experience progressing through the housebuilding industry?

I’d always aspired to senior roles, because when I started, there were very few women in those positions. Now, I see myself as someone who can inspire others, showing that with drive, commitment, and opportunity, success is possible. It’s great to be a role model for females in the industry – something I didn’t have when I started.

There are more female site managers and engineers now, and people are seeing that these roles are accessible. We’re also seeing a tier of more senior line managers coming through, which means we’ll continue to see more senior women in the industry.

At Barratt Redrow, we now have five female MDs, which is almost unheard of in our industry – I believe we have more female MDs than any other housebuilder. When I was at Redrow, I was the only female MD and, I think, the first. It’s fantastic to sit around the board table with other women.

Could you give us your outlook on the new build market here in the North West?

It’s a very competitive market. There are a number of housebuilders operating across the North West because it’s such a popular area. We’re doing everything we can to remain strong in the market, but it is challenging.

There are a lot of people who want to move and want to purchase, but there isn’t enough support for first-time buyers. That support is critical to keeping the whole market moving – not just first-time buyers coming through the door, but also those buying on the second-hand market, which then allows second steppers to move up. At the moment, the key issue for the North West housebuilding market is securing support for first-time buyers.

This is the first time we’ve seen a period where government support for first-time buyers – such as Help to Buy or shared equity schemes – is not in place. We’ve had the Budget, and while there were no surprises for housebuilders, we would have liked to see some form of first-time buyer support included. At the moment, that support simply isn’t there, and that’s creating challenges for people trying to get onto the ladder for the first time, or move up it.

We have seen some very positive changes to the planning system – the most proactive we’ve seen in a long time – but those changes aren’t yet being felt on the ground. It’s likely to be another 18 months before we start to see a real impact.

In the meantime, the question is what can be done now to stimulate the market? Without first-time buyer support, we’re just not seeing that momentum.

Are there opportunities emerging despite these challenges?

With the introduction of grey belt land, sites that previously wouldn’t have been considered are now viable. In the past, we wouldn’t have taken some of these sites to planning because they would have been refused, whereas now there’s a more pragmatic approach. However, while the policy direction has shifted at government level, local planning authorities don’t yet have the resources to process applications quickly enough.

As a result, all housebuilders – including ourselves – are submitting large numbers of applications, but until local authorities are properly resourced, they simply can’t cope with the volume. Until that happens and applications start moving through the system more efficiently, we won’t see those new homes delivered on the ground. And that’s the real frustration, because the demand is absolutely there.

 

Where do you think the government could provide more support to help the housing market?

There definitely needs to be more support for first-time buyers. While lenders have adjusted loan-to-value rates, the real challenge is deposits. For people in rented accommodation, saving a deposit can be extremely difficult, which is why shared equity schemes have worked so well.

Under those schemes, buyers typically only needed a 5% deposit, with the remainder supported through a shared equity loan – such as Help to Buy – which was then repaid over time. In effect, it gave people what was almost an interest-free loan for the first five years, allowing them the breathing space to build up financially and eventually repay the equity loan. That support gave people a real opportunity to get onto the housing ladder.

The scheme was very popular and, importantly, it also generated significant returns for the government through the repayment of equity loans. That’s the type of support we would have liked to see referenced in the Budget, particularly given the strong emphasis on housebuilding and the government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes over this Parliament.

Are there any successful schemes Barratt Redrow has in place to support buyers in the North West?

During COVID, we strongly recognised key workers through our Key Worker Deposit Contribution Scheme, and we saw a real uptake in sales at that time because of the support and the profile we gave the initiative. Since then, we’ve reviewed the scheme’s eligibility and expanded it in terms of who we offer it to.

Affordability is key – there are many people who want to buy but can’t. That key worker scheme really resonates with people. We see a lot of nurses, doctors, police officers, firefighters, and teachers buying through the scheme.

What are Barratt Redrow’s new development plans for 2026 in the North West?

We’ve got some really exciting schemes coming through. We have a strong development at Sundial Place in Thornton, which continues to be very popular, and we’ve delivered a significant number of homes across this area and in Formby. The wider Sefton area remains a key location for us.

We’ve also recently secured planning for a major development in Kirkby, which forms part of the regeneration of the town centre. The scheme will deliver around 800 homes, across David Wilson Homes and Barratt, alongside a private rented element. It will be genuinely transformational.

We’ve worked closely with the Liverpool City Region on that project, with grant funding in place as it’s a brownfield site. Knowsley Council has been particularly proactive, making previously local authority-owned land available and prioritising viable development projects.

I think this is one of the real strengths of the North West. The presence of city region mayors gives the area an advantage that others don’t always have. With leaders like Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham, there’s a very proactive and ambitious approach to housebuilding targets, regeneration, and unlocking council land, alongside investment in infrastructure. There’s also a strong focus on improving links between Liverpool and Manchester, which only strengthens the region further.

With ambitious housebuilding targets from the government, how is Barratt Redrow addressing both workforce and construction challenges?

One of the major challenges for the industry is how we bring more people in to build the homes we need. We do a significant amount of work with schools and colleges, focusing on engagement and encouraging people into the industry. We also work closely with the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and the National House Building Council (NHBC) on this, but there is still a real skills shortage. Working more closely with local authorities to expand apprenticeships and create clearer pathways into the industry is going to be critical.

We have strong partnerships with our core subcontractors, but if the industry is to deliver on the government’s 1.5 million new homes target, we need a much larger workforce. Alongside that, we’re increasingly looking at modern methods of construction (MMC). This includes exploring different approaches to energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions, but also addressing skills shortages in traditional trades, such as bricklaying, by adopting alternatives like panelling, modular construction, and timber frame. We have two timber frame factories, and from both a sustainability and efficiency perspective, this works extremely well for us.

What other initiatives is the company driving to shape the future of housebuilding?

We’re working in partnership with the University of Salford on Energy House 2.0, which is the UK’s largest energy research project. Over the past 18 months, the team has been testing heating systems to identify which solutions heat homes most effectively at the lowest cost, while also researching how to create homes that are airtight yet breathable.

We’re sharing the findings across the industry – with other housebuilders, SMEs, and partners – because it’s for the good of the sector as a whole. We’re already applying those learnings on developments across the country, building at scale using modern methods of construction and designing to the Future Homes Standard ahead of the regulations being formally released. While the work at Energy House is still in its early stages, the scientific data we’re generating is genuinely industry-leading.

dwh.co.uk/new-homes/north-west/