One Vision Housing has joined forces with the Northern Housing Consortium to deliver the Digital Switchover to residents of the Borough of Sefton.

The region in Granada will be amongst the first areas in the UK to be "switched off" as the analogue signal will be change to digital between October and December 2009.

Communal aerials which currently service over 2,500 tenants and leaseholders must be replaced by the housing association with new digital-compatible systems to ensure customers can access digital TV after the switchover.

The partnership with the Northern Housing Consortium will allow One Vision Housing to ensure that the TV upgrade programme is undertaken with as little disruption to customers as possible and that both organisations can develop a joint programme as an example of best practice.

Speaking at the launch One Vision Housing Chief Executive Roy Williams said: "As an organisation we understand how important it is that our tenants and leaseholders have access to the new digital TV signal which will be introduced into the Granada region in 2009.

“I am therefore delighted that we have appointed the Northern Housing Consortium to help us deliver on time and budget to the high standards that we demand on behalf of our tenants and leaseholders."

One Vision Housing Director of Regeneration and Investment Andrew Spencer commented: "At One Vision Housing we have a number high rise and low rise flats that have increasingly obsolete communal TV Arial systems. In our offer to our tenants we are committed to upgrade and replace these communal aerials so that they are fit for purpose by 2009.”

Andrew Carlin, Northern Housing Consortium’s Commercial Director, said: “We are extremely pleased to enter into this partnership with One Vision Housing and we believe that our experience will ensure that the programme of upgrades will be carried out in the most effective, cost effective and less intrusive way possible.”

The One Vision Housing Digital Switchover programme is scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2008 and is due for completion approximately 6 months ahead of the Granada Region switchover in 2009.

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