THE myth-busters were in town as one of the South’s leading housing, care and support providers launched a campaign in East Hampshire to clear up misconceptions about sheltered housing.

The Radian team held two professional events at properties in Alton and Petersfield to demonstrate the modern service and the £500 that it pays to people aged 60 or over toward their moving in costs.

Amanda Mills, one of Radian’s independent living officers, said: “Finding the right accommodation in your later years can make such a difference to your life, but often people are wrongly put off by myths about some good options, including sheltered housing.

“Our campaign in the East Hampshire area is to clear up those false impressions both among potential residents and the professionals who help them choose their next home. We are hoping our campaign will assist more people aged over 60 to find the best place to live an independent life.”

Thomas Ferguson, 72, from Maple Way in Headley, said: “I was surprised when my independent living officer told me that I could get the majority of my removal cost back, and I was immensely pleased when a couple of weeks later I received a cheque for £500. I have never known for this to happen before but I am immensely pleased that it did happen. Well done, Radian!”

Radian manages 1,000 high quality, good value homes across the South for people aged 60 and above. The safe and secure properties enjoy 24-hour emergency alarm systems, support from independent living officers, communal facilities such as a residents’ lounge, guest rooms, and gardens, plus opportunities to socialise.

Radian is part of the Wayfarer Partnership which has announced that it has exceeded its targets and successfully delivered 1,844 new homes across the south of England as part of the Homes and Communities Agency’s affordable homes programme – 15 per cent higher than the agreed contract.

The four-year programme included a number of supported housing schemes through the agency’s specialist homelessness change programme as well as large regeneration scheme and housing for a range of specialist needs, which have been built across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

The aim of the affordable homes programme was to deliver 80,000 homes across England by 2015, supported by £4.5bn investment from the Homes and Communities Agency.

The Wayfarer Partnership was established in 2003 and is led by Radian and includes First Wessex, Raven Housing Trust, Petersfield Housing Association, Havant Housing Association, Crown Simmons Housing, Two Saints, Greenoak, Southampton City Council, Fareham Borough Council, and Bracknell Forest Homes.

According to a Radian spokesman, to date Radian has 4,719 homes in East Hampshire, of which 1,230 are in Alton, 1,162 in Whitehill Bordon, and 926 in Petersfield.

Radian successfully completed the building of 40 new homes in East Hampshire during 2014-15, five of them in Nursery Road, Alton, and four at Farthings Field in Headley, and is currently predicting the completion of a further 326 new homes in the district by the end of the current financial year, 62 of them in the Rother area which includes Alton.

Call Radian Housing on 0300 1231567, e-mail [email protected], or visit radian.co.uk/over60sservices.