A grand tour of Tree Top Village

The purpose of the visit to the North East was to exchange best practice and information on a range of topics related to the housing sector such as procurement, net zero and placemaking.

As part of the visit, the group visited Tree Top Village in Walker. Group Director of Assets and Development at YHN, David Langhorne and the regeneration team supported by Technical Housing Plus teams explained the features of the building and reasoning behind some of them. They even got a chance to meet Ada, one of our residents in Tree Top Village, who moved into the development in 2017 when it was first opened. She kindly invited the group into her home so the group could see the spacious apartments.

David Langhorne, Group Director of Assets and Development at YHN, said: “It was great to welcome the group to Tree Top Village and discuss our development, but also speak about topical issues in the sector with them. Tree Top Village is exclusively for over 55s, and we built this with the residents in mind by choosing a convenient location close to local shops, supermarkets, GP surgeries, pharmacies and bus routes to the city centre.

“Since opening in 2017, it has been a very popular development, which is great for the area.”

Kate Maughan, Director of Member Engagement at Northern Housing Consortium, said: “The NHC has a diverse membership and we’re committed to building and strengthening relationships between our members. We were delighted to introduce our colleagues in Northern Ireland to YHN and the Tree Top Village development, and to share learning along the way. Huge thanks to Tree Tops’ residents and staff for making us feel so welcome!”

The group also visited schemes from Karbon Homes and Thirteen while visiting the region.