London South Bank University students visit Wythenshawe Community Housing Group
Students from London South Bank University (LSBU) came on a fact-finding visit to Wythenshawe on Wednesday, 12th March to see a Housing Association in action as part of their Housing Studies degree course.
This is the third visit from students at LSBU, who were directed to Wythenshawe by the National Housing Federation a few years ago as a great example of the wider remit and work of Housing organisations.
Diane Paice, Senior Lecturer and Course Director of the PG Diploma and MA in Housing Studies at LSBU, said; “Housing students do not always realise the wider regeneration and community investment undertaken by organisations like Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG).The new housing professional needs to embrace opportunities for working with residents to deliver a viable and sustainable neighbourhood.
We have had presentations today from the Group’s regeneration team and heard about the employment initiatives to help local people get back into work. We’ve also seen the fantastic facilities and courses offered at their local Community Centres such as Benchill Community Centre and Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre.”
Chris Schmidt-Reid, a postgraduate student from LSBU said “It’s helpful to see not only the physical and social regeneration that happens here, but the ‘community glue’ which Wythenshawe Community Housing Group facilitates.”
Eddy Newman, Chair of WCHG, said: “We hope that this visit to Wythenshawe has given the students an excellent opportunity to observe at first hand the tremendous amount of regeneration and community investment that organisations like WCHG can make to an area. We are very proud of the work that we have done and continue to do.”
Nigel Wilson, Group Chief Executive of WCHG said; “We were delighted to share our vision with these enthusiastic students, who will now have a much clearer idea of the wide range of careers and prospects available to them in the Housing Sector. We hope that this visit has inspired them and given them a greater understanding of Housing in all its many forms.”
