Salford landlords honoured at top award ceremony

Salix Homes and City West Housing Trustwere both highly commended by judges at the prestigious UK Housing Awards 2015.

The London event, which was attended by around 700 guests, recognised contributions made by UK housing organisations to help improve the lives of people in their communities and was hosted by the award winning writer, actress, TV presenter and comedian Sandi Toksvig.

Salix Homes earned praise in the Outstanding Campaign of the Year category for its ‘The Power of Yes’ campaign which raised awareness ahead of the transfer of homes from Salford Council to the new housing association in March this year.

Salix Homes was also one of the finalists in the Meeting Specialist Housing Needs category for its efforts at Duchy Road Caravan Park.

City West was given the nod by judges for its ‘passion and commitment’ in the Outstanding Landlord of the Year category, and impressed with its projects that have helped improve links between health and housing services, including developing the new Amblecote Gardens extra care facility in Little Hulton.

Barbara Harper, chair of Salix Homes Customer Senate, added:“We put a lot of work into making sure the transfer proposals represented what was important to us as tenants and the Power of Yes campaign was instrumental in bringing all this together to make the proposals come to life.”

Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, added:“It was a great night for Salford and highlighted the outstanding work being done to tackle housing issues in our area.

These are the most prestigious awards in the housing sector, so to be highly commended for our work represents a great start to life as a housing association for Salix Homes. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that supported the transfer who left no stone unturned in making sure tenants were aware of what the proposals meant for them.”

Carol Mawers, tenant board member at City West, said:“City West has been leading the debate on one of the biggest issues facing the sector as we look to better integrate health and housing services to allow people to live independently in their own homes for longer. “It was terrific to be recognised for the top category, and that the work being undertaken across Salford is grabbing headlines in the industry.”