Derwent Living celebrates 10,000th property

Tuesday 20th November 2007

HOUSING provider Derwent Living celebrated the completion of its 10,000th property - in its home town of Derby.

Guests from local authorities and the housing sector including mayor Councillor Pauline Latham were invited to the event to not only celebrate the milestone property - but also to mark the success of the Derby organisation which, over the years, has provided thousands of affordable homes across the Midlands and beyond.

Derwent Living held the celebratory event on 25 October - starting at The Midland Hotel in Derby and then on to City Point in Wilmorton, Derby - the site of its 10,000th property. Resident Melanie Walker was also on hand to join
in the celebration.

John Martin, Derwent Living's chief executive, said: "This is a key event in our history. For many years, Derwent Living has been providing a range of housing, and this is our way of celebrating our success.

"This event means we have brought together friends and supporters of our organisation who have worked with Derwent Living over the years."

Built by Barratt, Derwent Living has a total of 54 homes at City Point - 43 for affordable rent, and 11 apartments to part-buy, part-rent through its Easy Living brand.

It was 1964 when Derwent Living, a not-for-profit organisation, set up to provide affordable living for local people.

In 2007, the organisation now provides a range of housing - from its part-buy, part-rent properties to student living, to properties for key workers. Derwent Living provides homes for tens of thousands of people across the Midlands,
South Yorkshire and the South East.

Mr Martin, who joined Derwent Living in 1979 and will retire next year, said: "We are delighted to celebrate this milestone in Derby which is where our organisation was founded."

City Point is another scheme where Derwent Living has made commitment to affordable housing, creating much-needed properties for people to rent and for people who are struggling to buy a home.

Mr Martin added: "Getting on the property ladder is now a huge problem for many people, and this is something that the Government has brought to the fore. There has been a call for more affordable homes in the wake of new research by the National Housing Federation, which revealed that average
house prices will break the £300,000 barrier by 2012.

"The NHF report said that the country needs to build 70,000 new social homes a year if it is to keep up with the demand for social housing over the next few years.

"Derwent Living is one of many housing providers looking to redress the balance.

Our part-buy, part-rent initiatives are increasingly popular because of the constant upward drift of property prices. House prices have outstripped salary increases and therefore, schemes like this and the Government's Homebuy
initiatives are crucial to help provide for those who are just setting out in life.

"Our plans for the future are ambitious. In a few years Derwent Living intends to be managing 15,000 properties of all tenure types including a growing number of part-buy, part-rent homes. So it is an opportune time for me to
hand over to someone younger who can further progress our growth and success and take Derwent Living up to the next level."

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