Housing Group to invest £130m in Gwent
South Wales Argus: 7 November 2005
(by Jane Helmich)
Millions of pounds are to be invested in creating affordable homes and maintaining existing properties in Gwent.
Four housing organisations have joined forces with local authority partners to develop a consortium to oversee funding for the ambitious scheme.
GENuS, made up of Eastern Valley and Gwerin housing associations, Newport Housing Trust and the Seren Group, will invest in the region of £130 million over the next three years towards the creation of new homes and maintenance of existing properties.
Supported by the Assembly, GENuS is working closely with the councils involved to increase the number of properties available for rent as well as to encourage low-cost home ownership.
In the longer term, the Assembly leadership will provide the consortium with more funding and offer greater certainty over future programmes.
“This will lead to a boost for the local economy and an increase in employment, not only on construction projects but also through supporting and developing local supply chains,” said a spokeswoman.
The four independent housing organisations involved have already been working closely together over the past year and their hard work is showing results with the amount of funding received from the Assembly being increased by more than a third for this financial year.
She added: “This is a real testament to the commitment and support from all levels, including the local authorities, who have a key role in determining where the money is invested.
“The creation of GENuS ensures that this good work can continue and both old and new customers will greatly benefit from an increased supply of homes and maintenance programmes based on innovation, efficiency and added value.”
Members of the consortium own and manage almost 8,000 properties in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen and Powys.
More than 1,200 homes are also in the “pipeline”.
They also undertake a range of housing and regeneration projects.
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