Life-changing adaptations welcomed by new Hillier Way residents
Life-changing adaptations welcomed by new Hillier Way residents
A couple have welcomed the positive impact on their lives after downsizing to a new Council home with special adaptations to improve their quality of life.
Mark and Julie Brown recently moved into their new home in Hillier Way, which came with a specially adapted wet room provided by Winchester City Council. This has helped Mark gain more independence.
Mark has mobility issues due to Motor Sensory Neurone Disease, which meant he had previously struggled to move around in his former home in Stanmore. The couple saw the opportunity to downsize and were helped by the Council to move into a property at the recently completed scheme. They have expressed their delight with the home, especially its safety features and level floor access, which helps Mark feel safer and less reliant on assistance from his wife Julie.
Mark said he was extremely happy with their new home:
We are over the moon – it was worth the wait. The wet room has made a huge difference and even though we have downsized we feel that we have moved to a property wh
ich is equally spacious but much more suitable than our old home. We can live entirely on the ground floor, which is great as I can get around easily.
Chairman of Tenants and Council Together (TACT) Monica Gill said:
It is really important that the Council adapts or builds properties that are suited to people who have mobility issues and disabilities. I hope that it is something they can continue to do.
Cllr Caroline Horrill, Leader of Winchester City Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing said:
When Hillier Way officially opened, I had the pleasure of meeting Mark and Julie Brown and I am delighted that five months on they are happy with their new home. They tell us that these adaptations have improved their quality of life – and ensuring that our residents have good quality of life is a key aim for the Council – it’s the basis of our refreshed Housing Strategy.
I am pleased to confirm that we expanded the programme of grants to disabled residents last year so we can help more people get the care they need when they need it.
The City Council has agreed to double its spending on adapting residents’ homes as part of its bid to improve the level of choice available to local people. As well as helping Council tenants by installing disabled adaptations they are investing more than £1m through the Disabled Facilities Grant each year to support residents to live in the community. This can involve extending properties to help disabled and vulnerable residents to be able to continue to live independently and avoid the disruption, distress and expense of being placed in care homes or needing hospital stays.
