A Westbury housing development has marked 25 years of providing affordable homes for local people with a special anniversary celebration.
Residents of Vista Court were joined by family members, local people and trustees from the Laverton Housing Trust for an afternoon tea on Saturday 25th July to mark the milestone.
Vista Court was built by the trust on the site of the former Vista Cinema in Warminster Road and provides seven almshouses for local residents.
The Laverton Housing Trust manages 15 almshouses in Westbury and was set up with funds from the sale of almshouses in Prospect Square, which were built by the mill-owning Laverton family in 1886.
The trust aims to provide safe and affordable housing for people in the local area. When it was first established, applicants for the almshouses had to have a link to the Laverton mills, reflecting its historic connections.
Among those attending the anniversary celebration was 87-year-old Kathryn Cundick, who was the first resident to move into Vista Court 25 years ago.
Kathryn was born in Westbury and has lived in the town all her life. As a young woman, she worked at one of the Laverton mills.
She said, “When we moved in, most of us knew one another because we were all Westbury people. It’s a lovely community. We are well looked after.”
Westbury Mayor Carole King and Almshouse Association chairman Willy Hartley Russell also attended the celebration.
Willy said, “One of the great things about almshouses is we think it’s the best form of affordable housing because we create communities. A lot of that is down to the staff and trustees who look after the almshouses.”
To find out more about the work of the trust and the almshouses in Westbury, visit www.lavertonhousingtrust.org.uk.
Pictured above: The Laverton Housing Trust committee with Mayor Carole King, Deputy Mayor Mike Sutton and Willy Hartley Russell. Below left: Kathryn receiving flowers. Below: Willy Hartley Russell
