Peel Road apartments set to exceed tenants' expectations says council

Mon, 17 Jan 2022

Feedback from tenants of Douglas Borough Council’s Lord Street flats due to be relocated to apartments in the Council’s £12.6 million Peel Road social housing development has been overwhelmingly positive, after they attended an open day at Douglas Town Hall.

Housing officers, together with representatives from utility and service providers, were on hand to provide tenants with information, while a digital tour gave tenants an opportunity to view the interior of typical apartments and details of fittings and fixtures. 

Also on display were floorplans, the choices of carpets available and an example of the washer/dryer to be fitted in each apartment.

Leslie Smith has lived in a Lord Street flat since the nineteen-nineties and has been allocated a one-bedroom apartment in the new development. He said: ‘At first I was happy to stay where I was, but then circumstances led to me gaining a new perspective on life and I am now looking forward to moving. It is great to know that there will be carpets and a washer/dryer provided, and the open-plan kitchen/living room arrangement will give me more room to manoeuvre. To have a lift will be great and I’m sure there’ll soon be a little community formed of familiar faces from Lord Street. I’ve been very impressed with how the Council has been so supportive throughout the whole process, keeping us up to date with progress and the open day’s been very useful to give us an idea of how our new homes will look. I can’t wait to get my keys.’

Housing and Property Committee Chair Councillor Janet Thommeny said: ‘I’m delighted with the encouraging feedback we received from the open day. We aimed to provide tenants with as much information as possible and thanks to the hard work of our officers and other parties in arranging the event it’s fair to say that we achieved our ambition. 

‘Moving home can be stressful so the Council was determined to communicate with our tenants in an effective and clearly presented way that would be involving and interactive. We’re truly grateful to our tenants for sharing their views. Findings from the open day will not only help to strengthen engagement with our tenants but will also serve to inform the Council’s programme of future social housing developments’.

---