Halton Housing Trust will celebrate its first anniversary next week (December 5), with a little help from its customers.
The Trust was created in December 2005 following a positive ballot of tenants to transfer Halton Borough Council’s 6,320 homes to the new, not-for-profit housing organisation.
Since transfer, the new organisation has launched a £129 million, 10-year improvement programme to modernise homes and improve estates. Work is well underway, and is already having a positive impact on local communities.
Invitations have been sent to the Trust’s Widnes-based customers to a special first birthday celebration on Tuesday, December 5, from 11am-2pm at the Trust’s Widnes Area Office, 120-124 Widnes Road, Simms Cross, Widnes.
The event will give customers an opportunity to meet members of staff, and find out more about forthcoming improvement plans to their homes in 2007. Seasonal entertainment will come courtesy of children from Simms Cross Primary, who will be singing carols.
A similar event for the Trust’s remaining Runcorn based customers is planned for the early New Year.
Nick Atkin, Chief Executive of Halton Housing Trust, said: “We have had an exciting, challenging and extremely productive first year. Before transfer, the Trust pledged to modernise homes, improve services and create safe, pleasant areas – and we are starting to deliver against this. Our investment programme is already helping to improve the quality of life for our customers, and create proud, prosperous communities. It has been a great start, and there’s still much more to come in 2007.”
Since transfer, Halton Housing Trust has:
- Fitted over 4000 new double glazed windows to more than 650 customers’ homes.
- Doubled the size of its anti-social behaviour team.
- Started a comprehensive consultation process to deliver a £6.6 million environmental improvement programme, which will begin in spring 2007.
- Appointed contractors who will begin a programme to modernise 4,000 kitchens and 1,900 bathrooms from early 2007.
- Opened three new modern area housing offices, in the heart of local communities.
- Launched a special community fund, to support worthwhile local events – such as sporting projects and charity events.
- Introduced more convenient ways to pay rent at over 60 outlets across Halton 24 hours a day/ seven days per week.
- Launched a new website (www.haltonhousing.org) and customer newsletter
Lily and Eric Roberts, of The Common, Runcorn, were the 650th customers to benefit from new double glazed windows. Lily said: “We are absolutely thrilled with our new windows. The workmen were A1, first class. The difference in how warm the house is now, is fantastic”.
The Trust has pledged to install 50,000 UPVC double glazed windows with high security locking between 2006 and 2011. The installations which are carried out by a dedicated in house team are well underway and to date 5,500 windows have been installed.