MHT Celebrates First New Homes
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Maidstone Housing Trust has completed the first home in the major regeneration in the Park Wood area of Maidstone. The Trust held an opening ceremony and invited new tenants to look around the first home on Thursday 5 October.
The Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Mike Fitzgerald, cut a ribbon as Trust Chairman John Barned handed house keys to Mr & Mrs Harley. The Harleys and their three teenage daughters currently live in a Y-block flat nearby which is scheduled for demolition in phase two of the development.
The Park Wood regeneration will create 164 new homes. The first phase started in February 2006 and new homes will be handed over as they become available through until May 2007. The regeneration scheme is part of the promises the Trust made to tenants in 2004 when it took over nearly 6,300 homes from Maidstone Borough Council.
The new homes comply with Scheme Development Standards, Lifetime Homes Standards and exceed all the current standards for new social housing, including the Decent Home standards. The development also creates new open spaces for the community.
Trust Chief Executive, Peter Stringer, said: “This is a momentous day for the Trust, our customers and our partners. We are delighted to be delivering on our promise to tenants to regenerate Park Wood. This is just the beginning of our work to change the face of affordable housing in Maidstone, building new homes for local people and improving the communities we serve”.
The Trust hopes to begin work later this year on a £23.5m project to replace 122 older properties with 164 modern homes in Coombe Road, Maidstone. The Trust works in partnership with Kier Partnership Homes, calfordseaden and Maidstone Borough Council on regeneration and development projects.
date published: 06/10/2006