Chester & District Housing Trust hosts Housing Minister visit
As the newly appointed Minister for Housing, Caroline Flint MP was very keen to come to Chester to visit the Chester and District Housing Trust, one of the best Housing Associations in the country. The Trust has made excellent progress and this year came 20th for leadership and 56th overall in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For.
The Trust is proud of its partnership with the Blacon Community Trust to create a successor for the Blacon Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder, and at least 50% of its workforce is recruited from the communities and neighbourhood that it serves – in addition, it seeks to recruit apprentices each year from the Trust’s housing estates and is recognised in the market sector as being a top performing DLO (Direct Labour Organisation).
The Minister saw the £12million regeneration of Treborth Road which will include 200 new affordable homes for rent, sale and shared ownership.
Caroline Flint, Housing Minister said; “I am here on a fact finding visit to Chester to see how one of the top performing housing associations is achieving such success. I’ve been able to chat to the key people and the community involved and to see how they are working together to improve whole neighbourhoods.”
Speaking at Treborth Road, Mrs Flint added:
“I appreciate the officials in Whitehall and the reams of paper, but there is nothing better than seeing for yourself what’s happening on the ground. I’ve had reassurances that things are being put into practice in Blacon. John Denny has been explaining the wonderful things that are happening here. There’s a mixture of people wanting to do more here and have more control over their lives and join with other people. Chester & District Housing Trust is thinking outside the box, both as a good landlord and organisation. So long as change is done in an open and transparent way, change can be a good thing. I have been talking with John Denny, as to how job opportunities have been created by Chester & District Housing Trust. Congratulations for all the hard work done here by everyone. “
John Denny, Chief Executive of CDHT added; “I am delighted that Caroline has been able to see first hand the progress here at the Trust and how we are building affordable homes at Treborth Road. The project includes 200 new homes for rent, sale and shared ownership, as well as a village green and wildlife habitats.” Chester MP Christine Russell said; “The Government has recently announced that £44 million has been allocated to invest in affordable housing in Cheshire between 2008 and 2011. This should pay for over 1000 homes. Affordable housing is a top priority in Chester which suffers from the same housing pressures as London and the South East. There are over 4500 people on the housing waiting list in Chester.”
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Notes to editors For more information and photos please visit: http://www.marketingprojects.co.uk/clientpo/100/news
More info on the Treborth Road development at www.cdht.net/article.asp?id=596
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Chester & District Housing Trust (CDHT) was created in November 2000 to acquire the housing stock of Chester District Council and now owns and manages over 6,200 properties in and around Chester, employing 275 staff. The Trust’s homes fall in to six neighbourhoods – Blacon North; Blacon South; Chester City Area; The Rurals; Lache and Handbridge; Upton, Hoole, Newton and Plas Newton.
CDHT provides a range of services to tenants and residents in Chester and surrounding areas. These include ChesterCare, a telecare alarm service for CDHT tenants, other association tenants and private customers and the management of the specially designated Community Intervention Budget. This improves facilities and allows changes, which are felt by tenants to be vital to their community. CDHT also manages the housing waiting list and homelessness agency service on behalf of Chester City Council.
Current projects for CDHT include the £12million regeneration of the Treborth Road area of Chester, to include 200 new homes for rent, sale and shared ownership, as well as a village green and wildlife habitats.
For more details please visit www.cdht.net
Press Contacts: Phil Brotherhood E: phil@marketingprojects.co.uk M: 07884 493370 Jane Harrad-Roberts E: jane@marketingprojects.co.uk M: 07785 395705
T: 01244 330000 W: www.marketingprojects.co.uk also www.ziggurat.co.uk
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