Newcastle Council retains Local Authority of the Year title

Newcastle City Council’s commitment to delivering homes that meet the diverse needs of residents in the city has once again been recognised as they were named Local Authority of the Year at the prestigious Northern Housing Awards.

The award winning team.

A panel of expert judges considered a range of issues including the best use of council owned land, pioneering models of delivering new homes, work with partners to increase investment in homes and services, and strategies to tackle homelessness before declaring Newcastle the winner for the second consecutive year.

The award, which saw Newcastle beating strong competition from both Calderdale and West Lancashire councils, was the second of the night for the city after Your Homes Newcastle won the Best Digital Initiative Award just minutes earlier.

With a 30 year record high of 1,150 new homes built in the city last year, millions of pounds of investment secured to build more homes over the next three years and an excellent track record of bringing empty homes back into use the council’s commitment to providing good quality housing is clear to see.

The council are rightly proud of their achievements with residents having a wide variety of housing options to choose including supported housing, affordable homes to rent and buy and services to help people to live independently in their own homes.

But despite their success Newcastle City Council aren’t resting on their laurels. Plans already in place such, as building more new council houses, introducing new Rent to Buy schemes and using pioneering technology, will see Newcastle continue to lead the way in the housing sector.

Councillor Linda Hobson, Cabinet Member for Housing at Newcastle City Council said “I am absolutely delighted that the Northern Housing Awards have recognised our hard work and determination to deliver high quality housing by naming us as the Local Authority of the Year for the second year in a row.”

“I am particularly proud that we have received this accolade in a year that will see us mark the 100^th anniversary of council housing. Newcastle has a long history of innovation in housing, but we know there is still more to do.”

“We know a one size fits all approach doesn’t work and we are working hard to achieve our goal of delivering homes that fit the needs of all our residents, now and in the future.

“This Award, and the one YHN received, is a tribute to everyone involved in delivering our plans to make Newcastle the best possible place to live.”