02 Oct 2009

WHISTLE STOP TOUR OF MERSEYSIDE PATHFINDER FOR HCA CHAIR

Residents living in Merseyside's Housing Market Renewal areas welcomed the Chair of the Homes and Communities Agency Robert Napier as he visited Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral yesterday.

Mr Napier spent the day on Merseyside as part of a number of visits across the Pathfinder areas he's making as part of his national tour.

Funding for the Pathfinder programme comes through the Homes and Communities Agency which is the national housing and regeneration agency for England.

The HCA Chair met the Housing Market Renewal teams, stakeholders and residents from each of the areas.

Pauline Davis, the Managing Director for NewHeartlands - the Merseyside Pathfinder - said:

"There has been a great deal achieved on the ground with people moving into their new or refurbished houses and we have been working with our partners to ensure that we meet these targets. We were delighted to show the HCA Chair around our areas and give him a taste of the hard work that has been happening on Merseyside."

One of the people Mr Napier visited was Wirral resident Kate Sharkey who is about to move into her new-build home on the former Fiveways estate in Rock Ferry which is now called Sevenoaks. She said:

"We have witnessed the old houses come down and the new houses go up. The community has been kept together so what was promised to us has been delivered. I can't wait to settle in and make plans for my new home."

Mike Turner, area manager for Birkenhead-based affordable housing and regeneration specialist Lovell - which is currently building 114 new homes at Sevenoaks as part of the first phase of the regeneration programme at the estate - said:

"Work on the new homes at Sevenoaks is progressing well and we're enjoying working closely with the local community to help transform the estate."