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Hillcrest in Edinburgh
Councillor Edie visited 2 of Hillcrest Housing Association’s latest developments today to see how money is being used to provide affordable housing in the City.
Hillcrest Housing Association is proud to be providing affordable housing and low cost ownership in the City of Edinburgh for people in need. Even in a time of recession, Hillcrest’s foresight, hard work and innovation has enabled them to develop nearly 150 properties throughout the City in the last 12 months.
Over 40 years of development experience has contributed to Hillcrest delivering a breadth of projects ranging from new build flats to wheel chair adapted houses to a refurbishment of a historic building on a World Heritage site.
It is only through forging and maintaining strong partnerships with developers and funders that Hillcrest can maintain their commitment to providing affordable housing in Edinburgh. John Mulloy, Hillcrest Group Chief Executive commented that “Our vision and true partnership working has allowed us to deliver an ambitious development programme in Edinburgh over the last year. Under difficult operating conditions and an economic downturn I am delighted we have managed to work with a range of developers on a number of projects which contribute to reducing the housing shortage in the capital.
“It is not only Hillcrest’s future we are working to secure. By working with a number of local contractors we hope to contribute to sustaining the futures of the City’s strong commercial builders.” It is only through being flexible that Hillcrest has managed to work with a number of contractors on a varying programme of developments. As well as the mandatory S 75 allocation of housing, Hillcrest has purchased off the shelf housing where private sales were failing. They have also developed a number of properties in their own right.
At Newhaven Road Hillcrest worked with Westpoint Homes to complete 23 units through a section 75 agreement and at Hawkhill Court Hillcrest bought 13 units off the shelf from Westpoint Homes. Graham McNeil, Development Director of Westpoint said "Our excellent working relationship with Hillcrest has proved advantageous in what has been a very difficult trading period for house builders and developers. We have brokered all of our recent section 75 agreements with them and sold a number of "off the shelf" homes also. Their ability to secure funding quickly and to work to rigorous programmes has assisted our Company a great deal, and I would encourage more developers and landlords to adopt a similar "partnering approach.” John Mulloy added to this by saying “We would definitely work with Westpoint again. They made the process straight forward and we are more than happy with the end result.”
The visit from Councillor Edie today was an opportunity to showcase the work that is being made possible because of Housing Association Grants. Councillor Edie commented that “Edinburgh has an acute shortage of affordable homes and continues to be one the most expensive places in the UK to find a home. The Council has secured record levels of investment for new affordable homes in the city and its partnership with housing associations is delivering record numbers of new affordable homes.
“However, the gap between the number of new affordable homes that are being delivered and those that are needed remains large. I believe initiatives like this and our work with housing associations to get the absolute best value for money out of public investment will convince the Scottish Government to continue to invest in more affordable homes in the city."
Councillor Edie visited 2 of Hillcrest Housing Association’s latest developments today to see how money is being used to provide affordable housing in the City.
Hillcrest Housing Association is proud to be providing affordable housing and low cost ownership in the City of Edinburgh for people in need. Even in a time of recession, Hillcrest’s foresight, hard work and innovation has enabled them to develop nearly 150 properties throughout the City in the last 12 months.
Over 40 years of development experience has contributed to Hillcrest delivering a breadth of projects ranging from new build flats to wheel chair adapted houses to a refurbishment of a historic building on a World Heritage site.
It is only through forging and maintaining strong partnerships with developers and funders that Hillcrest can maintain their commitment to providing affordable housing in Edinburgh. John Mulloy, Hillcrest Group Chief Executive commented that “Our vision and true partnership working has allowed us to deliver an ambitious development programme in Edinburgh over the last year. Under difficult operating conditions and an economic downturn I am delighted we have managed to work with a range of developers on a number of projects which contribute to reducing the housing shortage in the capital.
“It is not only Hillcrest’s future we are working to secure. By working with a number of local contractors we hope to contribute to sustaining the futures of the City’s strong commercial builders.” It is only through being flexible that Hillcrest has managed to work with a number of contractors on a varying programme of developments. As well as the mandatory S 75 allocation of housing, Hillcrest has purchased off the shelf housing where private sales were failing. They have also developed a number of properties in their own right.
At Newhaven Road Hillcrest worked with Westpoint Homes to complete 23 units through a section 75 agreement and at Hawkhill Court Hillcrest bought 13 units off the shelf from Westpoint Homes. Graham McNeil, Development Director of Westpoint said "Our excellent working relationship with Hillcrest has proved advantageous in what has been a very difficult trading period for house builders and developers. We have brokered all of our recent section 75 agreements with them and sold a number of "off the shelf" homes also. Their ability to secure funding quickly and to work to rigorous programmes has assisted our Company a great deal, and I would encourage more developers and landlords to adopt a similar "partnering approach.” John Mulloy added to this by saying “We would definitely work with Westpoint again. They made the process straight forward and we are more than happy with the end result.”
The visit from Councillor Edie today was an opportunity to showcase the work that is being made possible because of Housing Association Grants. Councillor Edie commented that “Edinburgh has an acute shortage of affordable homes and continues to be one the most expensive places in the UK to find a home. The Council has secured record levels of investment for new affordable homes in the city and its partnership with housing associations is delivering record numbers of new affordable homes.
“However, the gap between the number of new affordable homes that are being delivered and those that are needed remains large. I believe initiatives like this and our work with housing associations to get the absolute best value for money out of public investment will convince the Scottish Government to continue to invest in more affordable homes in the city."