Moat residents’ association take a regeneration tour of the South » Housing » 24dash.com

On Tuesday 19 August members of the Moat South Area Residents Association (SARA) and Stanhope Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) took a tour of the Moat neighbourhoods which are undergoing regeneration in the Kent area.

Their first stop was Stanhope, a £200 million regeneration project in Ashford which celebrated a year of redevelopment in April of this year. After meeting the staff who work in the neighbourhood, residents moved onto The Vineries in Gillingham. Here they visited the award-winning community house, The Activity Loft and saw for themselves why it has won a National Housing Federation Peaceful and Better Neighbourhood Award.

In the afternoon attendees took in the regeneration project at Christian Fields in Gravesend. In 2002 Gravesham Borough Council identified Christian Fields as an area in need of regeneration. Moat was appointed as the affordable partner on the £75 million project and recently held a street party to celebrate completion of the first phase of new homes.

The tour provided an opportunity for SARA and Stanhope TRA members to see first-hand the neighbourhoods which are being regenerated and revitalised by Moat every day.

Moat board member and chair of SARA, Lorraine Ash, says: Moat is doing some great work in Kent and the rest of the south east and this tour was an opportunity for members to see for themselves the work that is being done to make a positive difference to the lives of local people.

ENDS

About SARA:
SARA (South Area Residents Association) is a group of Moat residents who donate their time to meet and discuss Moats policies and practices, making sure that residents voices are heard and that their views are taken into account.

SARA meets every eight weeks and their main objective is to encourage residents to get involved in improving the services Moat provides to its communities.

www.sara-on-line.org.uk

About Stanhope:
Stanhope is a £200 million, 30 year PFI contract being delivered by the Chrysalis Consortium, which was signed on 17 April 2007 to completely transform the Stanhope estate. Over the next five years, this massive regeneration project will see the refurbishment of 325 homes and the replacement of seven blocks of apartments with 442 new high-quality homes. Seventy percent of these (309 homes) will be available for rent or shared ownership through Moat.

About The Vineries:
The Vineries in Gillingham, Kent consists of 159 homes that are owned and managed by Moat. In the past, the community has had challenges with anti-social behaviour and a lack of community spirit but that has all changed!

To turn the neighbourhood around, Moat worked directly with residents and external partners to determine that what residents really wanted in their neighbourhood was a place where they could meet to hold events to bring the community together. Through Moats Neighbourhood Fund, a grant of over £24,000 helped turn a previously vandalised vacant property into that reality. In July 2006 The Activity Loft community house was officially opened and ever since it has become the hub of the community and surrounding area.

Since the house opened over two years ago, there has been a significant reduction in crime, homes at The Vineries have become easier to let and most importantly, residents have expressed how much happier they are to live in their community.

About Christian Fields:
Christian Fields is a £75m mixed tenure development, comprising 427 new homes in Gravesend, Kent. Residents at Christian Fields have been involved in the designs of the new homes with local exhibitions and representation on planning groups. The new homes are reflecting resident preferences for a traditional style of family home. Work began in March 2006. National regeneration agency, English Partnerships has contributed £9.95m towards the delivery of the project.

About Moat:
Moat is a housing association that has provided affordable homes for people in the south east for over 40 years. With particular strengths in affordable home ownership and key worker housing, Moat also provides general needs homes for affordable rent, supported accommodation and tenancy support services.

Moat is one of the Housing Corporations development partners and is also the governments appointed HomeBuy Agent in Essex, Kent and Sussex. Moat employs 450 people and manages nearly 19,000 homes for affordable rent and shared ownership.

Moats south region owns and manages over 7,700 homes across 21 local authority areas in Kent and Sussex.

Moat is an active partner in the Stanhope and Christian Fields regeneration projects and is involved in providing affordable homes at Brighton, Crawley, the Medway towns and Thames Gateway.

Moat is a leading housing association offering excellent customer service and building high quality affordable homes within thriving communities.

www.moat.co.uk

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