Disabled quizzed on housing needs

Disabled people on Tyneside are being asked for their views on how to make the housing service more accessible. The Gateshead Housing Company, which manages more than 22,000 homes, is holding a series of forums from August. These are open to any of its tenants or leaseholders that are disabled, deaf or have an impairment. Previous ones have resulted in initiatives such as a kitchen designed for visually impaired people and a new gardening scheme.

Bill Fullen, chief executive of the company, said: "We are very aware that we need to offer people with disabilities or individual needs specific services to allow them an equal chance to enjoy a good home life, get involved in decision making, or help us improve services.

"By previously working with the forum we have been able to introduce a number of improvements to our services, especially in relation to our £1m a week Decent Homes improvement programme. So I would say to our disabled or deaf customers to please come to one of the forums and help us to further improve our services right across Gateshead."