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Sovereign chosen to tackle housing shortage

Berkshire’s best-run housing association has been chosen by Wokingham Borough Council to boost affordable housing quotas in one of the country’s property hotspots.

Sovereign Housing Association is one of six landlords expected to pump millions of pounds into affordable housing in Wokingham district, where a typical worker needs to borrow nine times their salary to buy an average home.

Newbury-based Sovereign is already Berkshire’s biggest housing association, and was chosen by Wokingham for its expertise in several areas, such as elderly accommodation, shared ownership, rural housing, and its strong relationships with the Royal county’s major housebuilders.

Sovereign Assistant Director of Development Mark Allnutt said: “We’re delighted the council recognised that Sovereign’s ability to attract investment will translate into more high-quality affordable homes to help cut the 2000-strong housing waiting list.

“We’ve already formed an alliance with one of the other landlords, Housing Solutions Group, to drive down building costs, while making sure that council quotas are met.”

Wokingham Borough Council’s Senior Housing Strategy and Development Officer Louise Strongitharm said: “A full competitive selection process was undertaken to select the best RSLs to work with the borough council to meet local needs. The RSLs were questioned on a range of issues from energy efficiency to neighborhood management. The six selected RSLs demonstrated a commitment to the area and have an outstanding track record of performance. This is an excellent opportunity for the council to build on its existing partnership arrangements to assist with the delivery of our Housing Strategy.”

The agreement is also good news for Wokingham residents, as nine out of ten Sovereign residents - more than 7000 households in Berkshire - are happy with their landlord.

The council has a target of delivering 100 new affordable homes every year until 2012.

Published 17 May 2007
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