News

15 December 2011

Celebrating Five Years Of Housing Success

l-r Derwentside Homes’ chief executive Geraldine Wilcox and business/systems analyst Julie Summerson cut a 5 th birthday cake, watched by Derwentside Homes staff.

Derwentside Homes has marked its fifth anniversary this month – and with some high profile success stories over the last five years, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate.

Since it was established, Derwentside Homes has invested £70m in its housing stock, fitting new windows, doors, kitchens, bathrooms, electrics and central heating systems to more than 6,000 properties – transforming them into comfortable, modern homes.

The association’s Repairs and Maintenance Service was the first in the North East to be accredited by Housing Quality Network, with Derwentside Homes also recently named as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer, as well as one of the fastest growing companies in the North East.

Now the landlord, which took over responsibility for 6,700 properties from Derwentside District Council in 2006, is hoping to build on these achievements.

Chief executive Geraldine Wilcox said: “So much has been achieved since Derwentside Homes was established five years ago and we want to celebrate those achievements as we reach this key milestone.

“However, we also have some exciting plans for the future and our aim is to continue to develop as an organisation and provide all our customers with the best service possible – for the next five years and well beyond.”

Since its formation, Derwentside Homes has worked hard to improve its current housing stock, as well as building much needed new homes.

Work to bring all its properties up to the Government’s Decent Homes Standard was completed six months ahead of schedule and millions has been spent upgrading outdated sheltered courts into state-of-the-art apartments, designed to meet the needs of older tenants – the latest of which, Magdalene Court , will be unveiled next week.

Local families have benefitted from the 30 brand - new properties which have been built by Derwentside Homes, with 165 households also taking up the chance to buy their home though a ‘Rent then Buy’ scheme, set up by the association’s subsidiary company Prince Bishops Homes.

As the largest landlord in north Durham , Derwentside Homes is committed to supporting the communities in which it works and recently helped set up a new social enterprise company, Social Housing Enterprise Durham , or SHED, to provide training and employment opportunities for local people.

The scheme has made such an impact it was named winner of the Transforming Places category at this year’s National Housing Federation’s Social Housing in the North East (SHINE) Awards.

Community support has also been provided through the Prince Bishop’s Community Bank – a credit union set up with help and funding from Derwentside Homes , which encourages regular saving, as well as providing low-cost loans to members.

But the association isn’t resting on its laurels – plans for the future include opening a new 40-unit apartment complex for older tenants, installing solar panels on its sheltered courts and working with Sunderland AFC to develop a new youth engagement project.

Geraldine Wilcox said: “We are confident that we will achieve just as much in the next five years, if not more.”


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