Central Region News
Great Places and Wates installs three Defibrillators across Oldham
Great Places, Wates and the Oldham and Saddleworth Round Table have been working in partnership with Cllr Alicia Marland, Ward Councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees, and the Primrose and Crossley Community Associations to provide funding to enable three defibrillators to be installed across Oldham.
Defibrillators are small machines that can shock a person’s heart into restarting after a cardiac arrest. According to data from the British Heart Foundation, less than 1 in 10 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest and a major reason for this is a lack of defibrillators in public spaces.
The Defibrillators have been installed outside the Primrose Centre at Primrose Bank and The Crossley Centre in Chadderton as well as the Great Places managed Cooper Street development which is in Springhead.
Defibrillators are very easy to use; there is no clinical training required to use the machine and this allows members of the public to become lifesavers.
Paul Doherty, Housing Management PFI Manager at Great Places said:
“On behalf of Great Places, I am proud to have supported this project. Funding these new defibrillators will allow members of the public to administer vital life-saving treatment and significantly increase the survival chances of anyone who is suffering from a cardiac arrest.”
Oldham MP visits Great Places’ 25,000th customer at Vernon Garden
Great Places recently hosted Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West and Royton and Cllr Elaine Taylor, Cabinet Member for Housing at Oldham Council, to celebrate Great Places’ 25,000th home.
Alongside Great Places’ Chief Executive, Matthew Harrison, they met Evanya, Great Places’ 25,000th customer at her new home at Vernon Gardens in Royton. They had the chance to speak to Ms Morrison who after a period of homelessness, recently moved into one of the 49 affordable properties at the new development delivered in partnership with Kellen Homes.
Evanya said: “I’d like to thank Jim McMahon and everyone at Great Places Housing Group for bringing me and my family back together again. Our lovely new home has opened up so many life-changing opportunities for us, which up until now hadn’t been possible.”
In response to the deepening housing crisis, Great Places remains committed to building more affordable homes across the North of England. In Oldham alone, we are currently investing £53M to deliver over 275 new affordable homes.
Commenting on the visit, Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West, and Royton, said:
“The quality of the houses is fantastic. We all know how much we need good quality, affordable homes in Oldham and to see plans and developments come to fruition to such effect in Royton is pleasing, we need more to be done on this and this is a good step in the right direction”.
The visit concluded at The Primrose Community Centre in Chadderton. Guests had the opportunity to meet with Najma Khalid MBE, founder of local community group, CHAI (Care Help and Inspire), which delivers vital digital support services for women.
Matthew Harrison, Chief Executive of Great Places added:
“Demand in Oldham is huge so we’re delighted to have had the chance to showcase Vernon Gardens and hear how the provision of our new homes there have had a life-changing impact for Evanya and her family.
“The Community Centre and the work we’ve done with partners to create vibrant sustainable communities across all of the PFI neighbourhoods is a great example of what can be achieved through the power of partnerships.”