One of Shropshire’s leading social housing providers is looking forward to new successes in 2009 despite the challenges of the current financial climate.

Martin Holland, chief executive of Shropshire Housing Group, said his organisation must be on top of its game to serve its customers as the economic crisis deepens.

The group was formed to encompass South Shropshire Housing Association, Meres and Mosses Housing Association and repair and maintenance specialists, Total Response Ltd.

In its first full year the Shropshire Housing Group has built 40 new homes, with a further 177 currently in progress, including a project in Ludlow in which 90 homes will be heated by a woodburning biomass boiler. A total 38 of the Ludlow homes will be available for shared ownership.

Employing nearly 200 people across the organisation, Shropshire Housing Group is responsible for more than 4,000 properties across the county and around its borders. Approximately 2,300 of these are managed by Meres and Mosses Housing Association, serving north Shropshire, with a further 2,000 run by South Shropshire Housing Association, in the south of the county.

Mr Holland, said: “The provision of social housing is a critical part of the fabric of our community and we have a responsibility to do our job as efficiently as we can, but also in the most sustainable way possible. Weâre in a position to set an example for the creation of vibrant and viable communities, built around homes that make a minimal environmental impact.

“The group has come together smoothly and is functioning well, so we can remain focused on our aim of providing 500 new homes in the county over the next five years. In the current climate there will be challenges, but it is precisely because of the present economic conditions that we must be at the top of our game to best serve our customers.”

The biomass heating project at Rocks Green, in Ludlow, is a prime example of the group’s sustainability agenda. Recently opened by Ludlow MP, the woodburning biomass boiler will provide heat and hot water for all of the homes on the site, fuelled solely by wood chips from county-sourced recycled timber.

The group’s maintenance division, Total Response Ltd, has also performed well as part of the combined organisation, achieving a 100 per cent success rate in responding to emergency maintenance call-outs to homes within two hours. As well as supporting the properties of the two housing associations, Total Response also provides services to private customers.