Rehousing Case Study
Friends stay together…
The Housing Market Renewal Officers and NPHL have recently supported a group of Charlestown ladies to relocate to Heraldic Court from their Terraced homes in the redevelopment area of Levens, Reading and Suffolk Street. The ladies all grew up in the Whit lane and Charlestown area.
Heraldic Court offers sheltered housing to people who wish to remain independent but would like the reassurance that qualified staff are at hand to give them support when needed. The ladies from the Charlestown area have been firm friends for 80 years since meeting at school when they were just five years old! Heraldic has views of the Spire to St Georges Church where they were all married. Sisters Ann Harper and Olive Holt are enjoying sharing their new accommodation. Olive said, “It’s nice, we really like it.”
Elsie Seddon used to live in Levens Street, “I’ve really settled in, even better than I thought and I have a good new neighbour called Kath Daly, as well as all my old friends around me. Ann the warden is really nice. My son is much happier now that I am here and I feel much safer!”
Mary Rolfe from NDC and Josie Rees from NPHL have been supporting the ladies throughout the move. “We both felt it was really important for this group to be ale to stay together as a mini community”. “It was important to organise extra help to support them on the moving days”.
Elsie Seddon said “I was helped with packing up, then unpacking, they even made my bed and came back to see how I was that night.” Edna Morris has now joined the other ladies and she’s really looking forward to living at Heraldic Court. “At a certain time in your life you need to make decisions. Its nice having my new flat but it will be even nicer to be there with my friends”. It’s good that we’ve all got our independence within Heraldic Court”.
The ladies have seen a massive change in the area over the years and the regeneration and redevelopment of the area have meant even more change, but in a really great way for these friends. Mary Rolfe “they’ve been through a lot together over the years and its great to be able to help them remain together and see them settled in their new homes”.
Subsequent to the recent Housing Options Review of Sheltered Housing in Salford, a decision was made to keep Heraldic Court open.
Thanks should go to Housing Services and the 3 Local Councillors who fought to keep the scheme open.
This page was last updated on 28 September 2009
