Residents of Ellesmere Port and beyond have celebrated the fifth anniversary of a partnership which, amongst other achievements, saw the development of Cheshire West and Chester’s first new council houses in 30 years.
Saturday 20th August marked five years since Cheshire West and Chester Council joined with ForHousing in a partnership which includes the progressive landlord managing and maintaining 5,500 homes.
Local communities got together for anniversary celebrations at Bridge Wellness Gardens in Ellesmere Port. The free, family-friendly celebration featured inflatables, face painting, games, live music and entertainment for all ages.
The partnership has already made a hugely positive impact on the lives of local people. For example, the landlord has supported over 850 people to secure a total of more than £1m in benefits and grants to help families in and around west Cheshire. Together, they have also developed new supported accommodation for people at risk of homelessness in the borough, while staff have completed almost 1,000 hours of volunteering to support community initiatives.
Janet Lawton, Strategic Housing Lead (HMC) at ForHousing, said: “We are really proud to mark this milestone with Cheshire West and Chester Council and celebrate all we have achieved together. We are responsible for managing thousands of homes but this partnership is about so much more than that — maintaining safe and attractive communities, improving lives and boosting community wellbeing.
“Tenants and local residents have also played a huge role in the success of this partnership and are influencing how we shape and deliver services. We wanted to say thank you and celebrate, so a community event felt very fitting, and it was great to see so many people make it along for a fun day out.”
ForHousing began managing Cheshire West and Chester Council’s homes in 2017 and also delivers a number of other services and initiatives. Partnership success stories include securing £98,000 from the National Lottery to deliver projects tackling loneliness and isolation and connecting 450 people to employment and training opportunities. Close to £250,000 in funding has been awarded to 45 local charities too.
And as the pandemic hit and the first lockdown began in 2020, the partners quickly responded by making contact with every tenant to understand if they needed support, and delivered food parcels to people who were isolating.
Councillor Matt Bryan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Climate Emergency at Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Together, we can achieve more and it’s a pleasure to look back on what has happened during our successful partnership with ForHousing over the past five years.
“They have supported the delivery of more than 200 new council homes, worked with us to develop new approaches to tackling homelessness, increased opportunities for tenants to shape and influence services and so much more.
“It’s been great to celebrate with the community to mark this milestone.”
