Gold Award Winning Organisation

NomadE5, part of the Isos Housing Group, is celebrating the news that it has scooped a prestigious national housing award.

Announced 13th May 2008 at a special awards ceremony in central London, NomadE5 which led the Cleadon Park Community Partnership has fought off tough competition to scoop a Housing Corporation Gold Award in its Delivering joined-up developmentcategory. Housing Minister Caroline Flint was on hand to present the award.

Now in its third year, the Housing Corporation Gold Award scheme is firmly established as the most coveted and valued annual housing award in England. The popular competition has three new themes: Building cohesive communities, Delivering joined-up development and Tackling worklessness. Each winning association will receive a prize of £50,000 to help fund a year-long programme of knowledge dissemination.

The award is in recognition for the work in turning around the fortunes of Cleadon Park in South Tyneside. Once sought after, the area had become blighted by high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour and parts of the estate had 70 per cent empty and abandoned properties.

It is now being transformed thanks to an ambitious £90 million redevelopment scheme and a huge amount of hard work and innovation by the Cleadon Park Community Partnership involving local residents, NomadE5, Bellway Homes and South Tyneside Council.

A huge amount has been achieved already in transforming the place and lives of the community.

Today, 750 new seamlessly integrated homes for sale and rent are being built and a Primary Care Centre and community facility is being established with funding provided by the Housing Corporation, SHIP, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, and other public and private sector sources.

The scale and comprehensive nature of the project is ambitious and places it at the forefront regionally of housing led regeneration and will ensure that this transformed neighbourhood remains safe and sustainable for the future.

Alison Stanners, managing director of NomadE5 said: "The Cleadon Park Community Partnership is committed to creating a distinctive place which is recognised for high quality and visionary design, and meets the aspirations of local people as a place they want to live.

"We're delighted that the partnership approach taken at Cleadon Park has been recognised as outstanding. Our efforts have truly turned around this once declining area into a thriving community.

"Having almost completed the re-housing of former residents, work on phase 3 is about to start and will provide another 40 high quality affordable homes for local people alongside 65 new homes for sale via our partners Bellway Homes."

Keith Loraine, group chief executive of Isos said: "It's fantastic news that all of the hard work and dedication by local people and the partners has been recognised nationally with this accolade. It confirms the regeneration programme is one of the best in England. The Partnership is rightly proud to receive this most coveted award, considered to be the housing equivalent of the Oscars!"

Sir Duncan Michael, Chairman of the judging panel said: "Congratulations to NomadE5 for securing this prestigious national award for delivering joined up development.

"NomadE5's innovative programme of community involvement and ability to be effective and close working relations with a range of partners has turned around the fortunes of a community and an area and has made it a worthy Gold Award winner."

Councillor Michael Clare, Lead Member Environment, Housing and Transport, said: "The Council is committed to regeneration and building an even better future for South Tyneside and all its residents. The Cleadon Park re-development is very much part of that drive and we are delighted that the success that the Cleadon Park Partnership is having has been recognised by the Housing Corporation. We look forward to achieving even more awards with NomadE5 and Bellway in the future. This award proves what we have always said - South Tyneside is at the leading edge of regeneration."

For more information on this award please visit the Housing Gold Award website.

Find out more about the Cleadon Park Regeneration Project by logging onto the Cleadon Park Website.