Making the most of Manchester

Like so many organisations, a commitment to ‘excellence’ is a prominent feature of its corporate vision. Well, anyone can make a claim, but on the ground, Northern Counties Housing Association (NCHA) is proving that it can walk as well as talk

The festive period brought added cheer for some residents in Stillwater Drive, east Manchester, for not only were they celebrating Christmas and New Year they were also settling in to the excitement of a new home.

Beryl Hulme, 62, and her friend Josie Fletcher, 60, were the last of 12 tenants to move into the new terraced homes in the Sportcity development. Their move brought to an end a six-year project to rehouse the residents of four terraced streets in an area of the city that is currently undergoing a regeneration billed as one of the largest in the country.

NCHA is a key partner with regeneration company New East Manchester in the redevelopment of the city’s eastside. This particular scheme features 23 houses and flats that NCHA bought from developers Countryside Properties. These provided modern, energy efficient and affordable housing for residents whose existing properties were deemed uneconomical to refurbish, so it was out with the old and in with the new – but not in terms of residents.

Naturally, the move wasn’t easy; moving home never is especially when people have lived in a place for decades.

“I was very dubious about moving at first but then you realise things have to change,” said Beryl Hulme, 62. She had lived at her old house in Clague Street for 40 years, so clearly moving would involve a great deal of conflicting emotions, but she is settling into the new home with her husband and two sons. “The house we’re in now is all very nice and new, although we had a few teething troubles which I suppose you can expect. We’ve had all the help and support we’ve needed from NCHA though, and it certainly feels warmer than our last house.”

Josie, who lived on nearby Kinlock Street for 24 years, added: “It’s been a big change for residents like me, who originally wanted to have our homes refurbished, but NCHA have done their best to support us.

Community involvement is an essential component of its work, and for NCHA’s area manager Gavin Fisk it’s a source of pride that they have maintained strong links with the residents and involved them in making decisions for the area’s future during the six-year period.

Elsewhere, NCHA with its partner G&J Seddon created four family homes for rent located in the Clayton district. Completed at a cost of £550,000 the three-bedroom homes were let to local people. whose original homes were being cleared as part of the regeneration. Like the Sportcity homes, these properties were built to be energy efficient and eco-friendly. They were built using modern methods of construction, incorporating recycled materials and making use of solar-powered heating.

Meanwhile, in Beswick, NCHA is acting as the development agent on behalf of Eastlands Homes for a development called ‘The Way’. The first phase provided 17 homes for rent, while the second phase, currently underway, will provide east Manchester with a further 53 new rental homes when it is completed in 2011.

Without community involvement a great deal of the organisation’s work would simply not be possible. In Beswick, for instance, NCHA has workeds with local residents with its ‘Dreamscheme’, which aims to foster better relations with young people in the area. It does this by involving them in activities that benefit themselves as well as the local community.

Last year NCHA held its Year of the Neighbourhood, which witnessed a range of activities taking place, such as a ‘team building’ event at Harpurhey with staff from the Guinness Trust.

The 100 or so staff gathered at the Harpurhey Neighbourhood Centre, on Carisbrook Street in the north of the city, to give the venue a makeover, painting the walls and the ceiling to brighten up the community facility. Without the two organisations coming together, it is reckoned the refurbishment would have taken 18 months rather than two days. It was just one of what NCHA chief executive Carol Matthews hopes will be many benefits to come from the two organisations having joinined forces as The Guinness Partnership in April 2007.