Did you know?
We're selling part-buy part-rent homes from Andover to Alton to Aldershot.
The first 15 years
1994 – Hart District Council transfers 2500 homes to Hartvale Housing Group.
1995 – Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council (BDBC) transfers 4400 homes to Basingstoke & North Hampshire Housing Association (BNNHA).
1996 – BNHHA changes name to Oakfern Housing Association.
1996 – Careline – set up by BDBC in 1989 - is rebranded as Communicare.
1997 – Oakfern starts replacing 171 concrete (PRC) homes, starting in Headley, near Newbury. Start of community regeneration in Oakridge, Basingstoke, and Pyestock, Farnborough.
1999 – Oakfern sets up homecare team. Government caps ‘right to buy’ discounts.
2000 – Oakfern merges with Hartvale Housing Group – which changes n
ame to Hart Housing Association – and Sentinel Housing Group is formed. Our first website and our first ‘key worker’ housing project launches, and we achieve planning consent for the regeneration of Pyestock (£23m) and Oakridge (£40m). Issues with Hart Housing Association lead Housing Corporation to put Sentinel under supervision.
2001 - Our first two regeneration projects start on site, and consultation begins on the Bishops Green regeneration project, near Newbury. New Chief Executive Martin Nurse joins from Three Rivers Housing.
2002 – Sentinel removed from supervision, and selected as preferred partner for Rushmoor. We join Sappling Partnership – a local development alliance of housing associations.
2003 – New Customer Service Centre set up to handle our 20,000 calls a month.
2004 – Sentinel takes the lead partner role for Sappling. Oakridge regeneration project recognised in first of many awards.
2005 – Audit Commission inspects Sentinel, grading us as “fair with promising prospects”. Group structure and subsidiaries replaced with single board, and rebranded as Sentinel Housing Association. Our Customer Service Centre wins National Customer Service Award.
2006 – Preparation work starts on Bishops Green regeneration, and both Pyestock and Oakridge projects completed, creating 500 new homes.
2007 – Construction of new £20m community at Bishops Green starts.
2008 – We announce plans to increase from 7200 to 10,000 homes by 2013, and expand operational area to 12 districts. Work begins with developers to convert hundreds of homes for private sale to affordable homes.
2009 – Start of two Extra Care sheltered housing projects at Abbey Court, Basingstoke, and Campbell Close, Fleet. 600 new homes under development.
