Witham MP Priti Patel hears about Eastlight’s first year and exciting future plans

Witham MP and Home Secretary Priti Patel heard about the first year of Eastlight Community Homes at a meeting on Saturday.

Eastlight Chief Executive Emma Palmer and James Green, Community Investment Director, were in attendance for a regular catch-up meeting which had been delayed because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The three met in the meeting room at the Witham Hub in the Newlands Centre and discussed Eastlight’s progress ahead of the first anniversary since its formation via a merger between Greenfields Community Housing and Colne Housing.

Other topics discussed were the forthcoming programme for helping communities to battle back from the pandemic and new initiatives to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Speaking after the meeting, Priti said: “It was great to catch up with Emma and James and talk about what life has been like for them and their customers during the long lockdown periods we’ve all experienced.

“I was pleased to hear about their plans for dealing with the scourge of anti-social behaviour and for helping to get things back to normal after the pandemic. Social housing will play a key role in meeting this Government’s ambitious housing targets and I will continue to work with our local authorities to make the most of the options available to them to build a new generation of council housing for our local communities.”

Emma Palmer said: “It was great to finally catch up with Priti and to brief her on our progress in our first 12 months, as well as our exciting plans for the future.

“We are very grateful for her continued interest in our work and we look forward to working more closely with her as we help our communities tackle the challenges we will face in the years to come.”