KHA transferring homes in bid to reduce local authority areas from 37 to 9

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Health and also in Communities

Knightstone Housing Association (KHA) plans to reduce the number of local authority areas it works in from 37 to nine, as part of its strategic review.

KHA, which manages over 11,000 properties, is transferring its rented homes outside of its heartland of Somerset and the West of England to other housing associations, whilst acquiring new residences in its core areas.

As part of its bid to increase its stocks in its heartland, KHA has purchased 312 affordable homes from Home Group in Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire.

By refocusing on its immediate area, KHA believes it will be able to provide a more local service, enabling a better response to residents’ changing needs.

Meanwhile, Home Group is adopting a similar strategy.

In a bid to strengthen in areas where it has a more strategic presence, the housing association concluded an initial stock disposal phase of 1,900 in April – but plans to dispose of some 3,000 more.

Nick Horne, Chief Executive of Knightstone, said: “I’d like to welcome these new residents to Knightstone. We’re looking forward to getting to know them over the coming weeks and months and to enhancing our work in this vibrant community.

“This is an exciting time for Knightstone, as we work to refocus our area, refresh our ways of working and reshape our services. All of this will help us to achieve our aim of giving our customers a great service.”