District Council shortlisted for the 2010 Housing Heroes Awards

8 March 2010

These awards are in their second year and will once again shine the spotlight on the people and teams that are doing great work in the social/affordable housing sector.

Derbyshire Dales District Council is now one of six left in the running for the Development Team of the Year prize.

The nomination recognises the District Council’s success in prioritising affordable homes for local people.

Said Leader Councillor Lewis Rose OBE: “I am extremely proud that Derbyshire Dales District Council has delivered on its promise to local people by enabling 724 new homes since 2002. Our target figure of 362 in the three years to 2011 is higher than any other district authority in Derbyshire.

“Local people told us affordable housing was their top priority and that’s why we allocated £1.6 million in the current year’s budget. On top of that this year we have achieved real value for money by getting an additional £16.70 from the Government for every pound we have spent.”

One of the latest Derbyshire Dales developments is in the village of Middleton-by-Wirksworth, where work starts this month on 14 new homes. As part of this project local schoolchildren have been encouraged to think about what makes a good housing design.

When the homes – to be managed and owned by Derwent Living – are near completion they will be advertised through Derbyshire Dales District Council’s Home-Options scheme, which allows home seekers to ‘bid’ for properties available.

The Housing Heroes event is organised by Inside Housing magazine and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), and attracted a phenomenal response with submissions from the length and breadth of the UK.

Howard Farrand, the President of the CIH said he was amazed by the fantastic people working in the housing sector. “Our sector spends a great deal of time talking about policy and strategy, business plans and budgets, our visions and our mission statements,” he said.

“Of course all of these things are really important. But in my experience it is the extraordinary people that do fantastic work for our customers that make the real difference. So I want to congratulate every finalist for getting this far in these awards. It was extremely tightly contested, and I look forward to helping to unveil the eventual winners in May.”

Inside Housing’s events director Ted Stevens said: “All the finalists have done brilliantly in getting this far. Well done to Derbyshire Dales District Council for getting shortlisted. The competition was really fierce with more than 40 entries in some categories.”