Two billion reasons to cheer

‘Better Homes, Better Lives, a Better Glasgow’

‘Better Homes, Better Lives, a Better Glasgow’.

The headline motto, has always been, for me, far more than words on paper.

Over the past 15 years since stock transfer, GHA has worked hard, with its partners, to transform affordable housing in the city.

That work has seen Glasgow’s skyline change forever and helped create jobs and opportunities for people in our communities.

But new research published this week has confirmed, for the first time, exactly what the scale of that transformation has meant for Scotland.

Economists at the Fraser of Allander Institute found that GHA’s investment and new build programme has, since 2003, contributed a huge £2billion to the Scottish economy.

In that time, GHA has modernised more than 70,000 former city council homes and built almost 2500 new affordable houses and flats.

That homes modernising programme, the biggest of its kind in Europe, has, as well as making a substantial contribution to the economy, also, according to the Fraser of Allander research, supported 2,425 full-time jobs every year.

The report is confirmation of what I and thousands of other tenants across the city know.

That is that the momentous decision taken by tenants in 2003 to transfer their tenancies to GHA was the right decision for them, their families and, indeed, Glasgow.

It was a decision which has led to the complete transformation of affordable housing in Glasgow and played a vital part in the resurgence of our great city over the past 15 years.

Heralding a fresh start – under a new, tenant-led body called GHA – it created a fantastic opportunity to provide tenants with the modern, warm, safe homes and communities they deserved.

It is both a privilege and an honour to be GHA Chair … in so many different ways.

I still get, for example, a tremendous thrill in handing over the keys of a new home to a new or existing GHA tenant.

That is something I’ve done on a very regular basis since becoming Chair. And, given we are on site and have in the pipeline plans for thousands of new homes, it is something I will continue to enjoy in the years ahead.

It is also a huge thrill when I meet, as I do frequently, the tenants and other people of Glasgow who are securing jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities with GHA and Wheatley Group, and with City Building (Glasgow), which we now jointly own and run with the City Council.

I have seen the change in the lives of people who are now living in secure, high quality homes – often for the first time – and have the opportunity to go to work and earn a living.

Sometimes, it is the simplest things that make a difference.

One family told me how they loved having space for a dining table in their kitchen. Now they can sit down and eat meals together – bringing them closer as a family.

The importance of a good quality, affordable home simply cannot be overstated, and I am proud every time I hear of how one of our new homes has transformed someone’s life for the better.

The Fraser of Allander report published this week now makes it clear that as well as achieving this change in the fabric of the city, GHA’s investment and new-build programmes have made a truly remarkable contribution to Scotland’s economy.

Now that is something we can all be proud of.

I hope in the years ahead that GHA, by continuing to work closely with its partners – including the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council – will achieve just as much for the city and the people who live here.

Pictured above: GHA Chair Bernadette Hewitt

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