As we near completion of our latest housing improvement project in Portskewett, MHA’s assets team descended on St Mary’s Place armed with gardening trowels and hoes to transform the community raised bed!
The 33 homes located on St Mary’s Place have undergone extensive improvement and environmental works including the installation of solar panels to some properties, PV battery storage, new flat entrance fire doors, external wall installation as well as new roofs and UPVC windows throughout.
We worked with the residents to identify what is important to them and where to spend the £3,500 community benefit pot, funded by principal contractor Sureserve and they felt strongly about improving the raised beds, which had become weathered and untidy over time.
Reminiscent of the 90’s Ground Force garden transformation programme, the team of eleven volunteers got to work building and planting the new flower beds.
Alex Caswell, MHA’s Asset Manager said:
As well as improving the energy efficiency and appearance of the properties, we have replaced and replanted the raised beds for everybody to enjoy, and have used staff ‘volunteering days’ to undertake the works.
Investing in our communities and working with likeminded organisations to deliver social value across our services is really important to us, so we were particularly delighted Sureserve agreed to fund the flowers and materials.
Fortunately, a member of the team previously worked in a garden centre and knew her lavender from her dahlias – which was a big help!; we can’t wait until the summer to see the beds in full bloom!
The development has benefitted from £513,000 of Optimised Retrofit Project funding from Welsh Government and an investment of £285,000 from MHA.
Becky Oliver, Assistant Director of Property Services said:
At MHA we contribute far more to a community than just offering a roof over people’s heads, we are passionate about ensuring our communities are thriving and that our homes are great places to live.
It’s also particularly heartening to hear that staff are putting their volunteering days to such good use, it’s an opportunity for staff to learn new skills whilst giving something back to our local communities – so it’s a bit of a win, win really!
