The forming of a major North East housing group; Vela, has been welcomed by local MPs, the Chairman of the NHF (National Housing Federation) and civic leaders. The merger means thousands of properties all covered by landlord insurance will soon be refurbished.
Vela brings together Tristar Homes & Housing Hartlepool and they are now a driving force behind not just housing, but community regeneration projects in the Stockton and Hartlepool areas as well. They are now the biggest social landlord in the Tees Valley area and are also in the top 50 in England. The good news for tenants is that Vela will have a yearly spending power of £65m from 2011 onwards.
Lord Taylor, who is the Chairman of the National Housing Federation, said “Congratulations to all involved in the launch of Vela Homes. I believe that it will make a huge difference to tenants of Housing Hartlepool and Tristar by enabling a huge investment in new homes, and improvements to the quality of the lives of so many tenants and the neighbourhoods and communities around them.”
The creation of Vela was celebrated at an official launch, attended by leading names from the social housing sector, developers and stakeholders. A video showcasing Vela was broadcast at the event. This was followed by a TV show style discussion on the future of social housing involving a Vela Group chief executive.
Vela plan to focus on improving the lives of residents by investing in home improvements, building new properties and enhancing the communities people live in. They are aware that the role of a social landlord goes much deeper than just the delivery of affordable, high quality housing. Residents will soon start to see and the benefits of having a group structure which include building of new homes, upgrading bathrooms and kitchens and fitting new windows and doors.