Residents of Islington’s Surco (re-named Hyde Village) and Grove Estates have welcomed Hyde Housing Association as their new landlord. As a result of successful ballots in July 2004 ownership of 653 homes transferred to Hyde Housing Association from Islington Council on Monday 21 February 2005. Hyde will invest a total of £21.5 million in a three year programme of improvements on Hyde Village and The Grove. These improvements will include new bathrooms and kitchens for residents, security works, entry phone systems, replacement windows, new roofs and extensive environmental improvements.Hyde Northside Homes will manage the estates, the first homes owned by Hyde in north London. The residents of Hyde Village and the Grove Estate were keen to transfer to Hyde because they were impressed with the quality of the housing management service provided by Hyde during their 5 year housing management contract in Islington.Residents are being provided with the opportunity to have greater involvement in the management of their homes via an Estate Board. Anne Gray, Chair of Grove Tenants and Residents Association and Chair of Grove Estate Board said: "The transfer to Hyde is a wonderful opportunity for residents; our estates will become pleasant places to live, work and play on. It has been hard work getting the transfer completed, but we feel it will have been well worth the effort. Hyde's approach to meaningful resident involvement is very good and so we will be able to keep control of the project and make sure we get all the promises met." "I'm delighted that residents will get much needed improvements to their homes and estate. Islington Council will continue to work in partnership with Hyde to ensure that the residents get the best possible deal," says Councillor Jyoti Vaja executive member for housing and community safety.Julia Johnson, Assistant Director of Hyde Northside, said, “This tremendous vote of confidence in Hyde’s services from the residents of Islington. We have enjoyed working with residents in the housing management contract and look forward to working with them more closely to successfully deliver the high quality housing management and regeneration service that residents deserve”.Ends
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008