Fresh start for Pennington residents following fire

Published by Becki Ord for IPB Communications in Housing

Residents at one of City West’s sheltered housing schemes in Little Hulton are enjoying new facilities after work was done to repair fire damage.

A few months after a multi-million pound refurbishment had been completed at Pennington Close, an arson attack meant the laundry room was completely destroyed.

Customers are now enjoying the new laundry room which was recently completed, in addition to the existing refurbishments which include walk in showers, new double glazed windows and doors, heating system, communal facilities and an improved warden alarm call system and CCTV.

David Davies, 64, has lived at Pennington Close for a year. He said: “You wouldn’t believe the difference that the work has made. I don’t have a bad word to say about the workmen. They came in and got on with the job and it looks absolutely fantastic.”

As part of the improvements to the scheme, City West has also installed state of the art paving in the resident’s car park which previously suffered from pot holes and a lack of drainage.

Innovative, eco-friendly paving from suppliers Sudscape uses a recycled rubber sub base to retain rainwater until it can drain naturally back into the ground, preventing flash flooding. The rubber base also prevents cracking and movement in the paving in freezing weather conditions.

Matt Jones, Assistant Director of Communities and Neighbourhoods at City West Housing Trust, said: “It was dreadful when the laundry room was burnt out earlier this year, so it’s great to see our customers at Pennington enjoying their new facilities with enhanced security arrangements.

‘We are committed to providing high quality homes for all our sheltered customers and work is due to commence to improve more of our sheltered schemes this year.

‘The new eco-friendly paving in the car park is just one of the many ways we are ensuring we demonstrate our commitment to using sustainable, green technology.’