TENANCY Milestone For Oak Tree Housing Association

Nick Jardine, left, and Hazel Aitken, second right, with Anne McEachnie and John McDonagh during their visit to the Oak Tree Housing Association office.

OAK Tree Housing Association is celebrated after reaching its 5,000th tenancy.

It was signed by John McDonagh who joined Oak Tree chief exeutive Nick Jardine and housing manager Hazel Aitken, to mark the occasion.

Oak Tree also invited along Anne McEachnie, who is the longest serving tenant having joined James Watt Housing Association nearly 30 years ago.

Staff chatted with John and Anne over coffee and cake, exchanging their thoughts about living in Inverclyde and experiences of being an Oak Tree Housing Association tenant.

Anne lived in the West Station area of Greenock when James Watt Housing was formed in 1986 and it began refurbishing a number of properties designated as Housing Action Areas for Improvement. Anne moved to one of the first completed flats in the town centre in October 1989, where she has lived ever since.

She said: “Whenever I have asked for anything it has always been done right away.” John, who moved to his flat in the east end of Greenock in March 2019, says he loves his new flat and it has a great view. John said: “I am looking forward to a long tenancy to match Anne’s years with Oak Tree.”

Housing manager Hazel Aitken, said: “A member of our team noticed at the start of the year that tenant number 5000 was coming up and everyone agreed this was an exciting milestone for us to reach. It’s been lovely having John and Anne together with us to celebrate the occasion.”

Nick presented Anne and John with a small gift and voucher to mark the milestone and celebrate their tenancies.

Oak Tree Housing Association was formed in 2001 following the merger of Bow Farm, James Watt and Victoria housing associations. The social landlord has grown over the decades from a small number of houses in each of the three organisations that formed it.

Thanks to a healthy programme of building, it now has 1,745 properties in its portfolio, with 171 re-let last year. A new-build scheme of 36 houses is currently underway at Auchmead Road, Greenock, with several other sites in the pipeline to start this year.

|  Oak Tree Housing Association