New NI housing association to spend £300m

Radius, the North’s newest housing association, has announced plans to invest £300 million (€351 million) over the next five years to develop additional residential accommodation and refurbish existing available homes throughout Northern Ireland.

Radius Housing Association has been created by the merger of two of the North's former largest associations – Fold and Helm – and will become one of Northern Ireland's largest social enterprises with more than 1,000 staff.

The new housing association is expected to provide services for 33,000 local households across the North and is forecast to increase its asset base to £1.25 billion and turnover to potentially £110 million within five years.

Liz Cuddy, the former chairwoman of Helm Housing Association, said the new organisation's motto is "Everyone has a place" and she believes the merger will enable it to deliver long-term improvements for communities across the North.

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According to Diana Fitzsimons, the chairwoman of Radius, the new association will also move into “unchartered water” and provide additional services such as “financial advice, creating employment and improving well-being”.

“Radius has a vision for the future which will see us continuing to enable people of all ages to live in the community through a range of traditional and technological housing solutions. Demand for our services is growing and we are confident that our merger will place us in a strong position,” she said.