Partners Offer a Cuppa and a Catch Up to Residents
RESIDENTS in an area undergoing a massive facelift have been celebrating the scheme's progress over afternoon tea.
People living in York's Discus bungalows heard all about how the redevelopment scheme is advancing when they joined the project team for coffee, cream tea and entertainment.
The scheme will replace 100 prefabricated bungalows on three sites with 196 new homes, thanks to a £20m partnership between City of York Council, York Housing Association, Southdale Homes and Tees Valley Housing.
People are watching the work go on around them and once the first new bungalows are ready, they will be moved into the modern properties from their old homes.
Members of the project team laid on the special cream tea event in York for the remaining 54 residents to say thank you for their patience so far and update them on how the scheme is advancing.
Mrs Barbara Whitehead of Richmond Street said: "We're all looking forward to moving in to our new bungalows. It was a lovely afternoon and a really nice gesture."
Across the three sites, 60 new bungalows will be built and offered first to existing Discus residents. A further 95 houses and apartments will be built for affordable rent, discounted sale and sale on the open market with a 41-apartment extra care scheme to be built at St Ann's.
The new developments at St Ann's Court/Horsman Avenue, Regent Street and Richmond/Faber Street will offer 60 two bedroom bungalows for older people and a state of the art, 41-apartment extra care scheme at St Ann's Court with a range of communal facilities and innovative technologies such as air source heat pumps. There will also be 48 affordable family homes for social rent.
In addition, a further 47 homes which will be initially offered for rent at 80 per cent of open market rents, enabling potential owners to rent the property before being given the chance to buy it at market value.
The first 12 residents are due to move into their new bungalows at St Ann's in the coming months. They are currently choosing kitchens and bathrooms for their homes and are anticipating lower fuel bills thanks to solar panels, as well as improved parking facilities for bikes, electric mobility scooters and cars.
Residents have been consulted throughout the key planning stages of the project with representatives from the Residents' Development Committee assisting the project board with decision-making, including advising on bungalow design to meet the current and future housing needs of older people in York. The input will continue via the steering group which will monitor progress while the homes are being built.
Martin Hawthorne, Group Director of Development and Regeneration at Fabrick Housing Group, the parent company of Tees Valley Housing, added: "We are really thankful to the residents for their valued input so far and this goes some way to saying thank you.
"This contemporary new development will offer a range of vital new homes and a variety of tenure options to help meet people's housing needs in the changing economic climate."
Christine Storrs, chief executive of York Housing Association said: "Ensuring that the move into their new home goes as smoothly as possible is our absolute priority and we will continue to keep in touch with them regularly and support them to make this happen."
Steve Waddington, head of Housing Services for City of York Council said: "The Discus tenants are a crucial element of the new development. Their contributions to the consultation process are invaluable and this afternoon's event was a way of thanking them for their continued support and for future tenant participation."
Paul Moore, managing director of Southdale Homes, said: "The residents have been an important link within the team. They have been extremely cooperative and a pleasure to work with. I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding as there has been a degree of disruption, but we know that the end result will be worth it and the feedback we have received so far has been excellent."
The scheme will replace 100 prefabricated bungalows on three sites with 196 new homes, thanks to a £20m partnership between City of York Council, York Housing Association, Southdale Homes and Tees Valley Housing.
People are watching the work go on around them and once the first new bungalows are ready, they will be moved into the modern properties from their old homes.
Members of the project team laid on the special cream tea event in York for the remaining 54 residents to say thank you for their patience so far and update them on how the scheme is advancing.
Mrs Barbara Whitehead of Richmond Street said: "We're all looking forward to moving in to our new bungalows. It was a lovely afternoon and a really nice gesture."
Across the three sites, 60 new bungalows will be built and offered first to existing Discus residents. A further 95 houses and apartments will be built for affordable rent, discounted sale and sale on the open market with a 41-apartment extra care scheme to be built at St Ann's.
The new developments at St Ann's Court/Horsman Avenue, Regent Street and Richmond/Faber Street will offer 60 two bedroom bungalows for older people and a state of the art, 41-apartment extra care scheme at St Ann's Court with a range of communal facilities and innovative technologies such as air source heat pumps. There will also be 48 affordable family homes for social rent.
In addition, a further 47 homes which will be initially offered for rent at 80 per cent of open market rents, enabling potential owners to rent the property before being given the chance to buy it at market value.
The first 12 residents are due to move into their new bungalows at St Ann's in the coming months. They are currently choosing kitchens and bathrooms for their homes and are anticipating lower fuel bills thanks to solar panels, as well as improved parking facilities for bikes, electric mobility scooters and cars.
Residents have been consulted throughout the key planning stages of the project with representatives from the Residents' Development Committee assisting the project board with decision-making, including advising on bungalow design to meet the current and future housing needs of older people in York. The input will continue via the steering group which will monitor progress while the homes are being built.
Martin Hawthorne, Group Director of Development and Regeneration at Fabrick Housing Group, the parent company of Tees Valley Housing, added: "We are really thankful to the residents for their valued input so far and this goes some way to saying thank you.
"This contemporary new development will offer a range of vital new homes and a variety of tenure options to help meet people's housing needs in the changing economic climate."
Christine Storrs, chief executive of York Housing Association said: "Ensuring that the move into their new home goes as smoothly as possible is our absolute priority and we will continue to keep in touch with them regularly and support them to make this happen."
Steve Waddington, head of Housing Services for City of York Council said: "The Discus tenants are a crucial element of the new development. Their contributions to the consultation process are invaluable and this afternoon's event was a way of thanking them for their continued support and for future tenant participation."
Paul Moore, managing director of Southdale Homes, said: "The residents have been an important link within the team. They have been extremely cooperative and a pleasure to work with. I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding as there has been a degree of disruption, but we know that the end result will be worth it and the feedback we have received so far has been excellent."
