National award for Blackwood’s Peoplehood project.
A project that will transform the future homes and communities of three distinct Scottish neighbourhoods has won a national accolade at the annual Chartered Institute of Housing Awards.
Blackwood Housing & Care’s Peoplehood project was honoured for its innovative collaboration with a host of non-housing partners, including Edinburgh University, imaging equipment specialist Canon Medical and car rental giant Enterprise.
The £12 million Peoplehood project is being rolled out in Charleston in Dundee, Buckie in Morayshire and Cardonald in Glasgow and means that participants benefit from free tablet computers and WiFi access, while also providing people with e-bikes, electric cars and a host of equipment and activities within communities, all according to local demand.
During its three-year pilot the project intends to show the way that sustainable communities of the future can help people – particularly those with age-related conditions or disabilities – to live longer, healthier lives while remaining independent in their own homes.
Now the pioneering initiative has won the award in the Working in Partnership category of the prestigious CIH awards. Blackwood has worked closely with nine major partners across Peoplehood.
Simon Fitzpatrick, Development & Commercial Director at Blackwood Housing & Care, said: “Working in partnership is key to delivering an exemplar project and we believe it has been vital in our work to create a future-proof model that will allow people to live healthier and happier for longer.
“Winning the partnership award for Peoplehood signifies the importance we have placed on co-design. We’ve not only worked in partnership with experts providing specific industry knowledge but also real people living in our neighbourhoods.
“We believe through doing this, we’ll really learn what it really takes to develop thriving healthy neighbourhoods of the future and to be recognised by CIH is a great start.”
The partnership category celebrated those across the housing sector that have developed, delivered or driven progress through collaboration with other organisations.
In Peoplehood, Blackwood has worked closely with nine partner organisations: University of Edinburgh; Canon Medical Research Europe; Carebuilder UK; CENSIS; Cisco International Ltd; Enterprise Rent-a-Car UK; Lewis & Hickey Architects; Mydex CIC and The DataLab.
Peoplehood develops and delivers products, services and business models with other partners to support people to achieve five more years of healthy ageing while living independently in their own home.
Peter Moir, who is the project Chair on Blackwood’s Board, said: “We are committed to being at the forefront of innovation in supporting independent living and healthy ageing through a neighbourhood approach. We recognise that a focus on partnership working is important to capture a host of expertise and viewpoints.
“It’s fantastic to see Peoplehood recognised on a national level acknowledging the hard work of everyone involved in the project and showcasing how it is already making a major different to the lives of those in these three diverse Scottish neighbourhoods.”
The three-year initiative will create a blueprint for active neighbourhoods with age-friendly homes, supported by cutting-edge technologies, making independent living achievable and sustainable as people grow older, with safe outdoor spaces to sustain physical activities.
Blackwood operates more than 1700 properties in 31 local authority areas. People looking to join the Blackwood Peoplehood Project can find more information at www.blackwoodgroup.org.uk/peoplehood or by messaging: getinvolved@blackwoodgroup.org.uk
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