Housing and health partnership creates new homes in Brynmawr

A new housing scheme on the site of the former Brynmawr Clinic in Blaenau Gwent has officially opened.

Acer House is a new apartment building consisting of five apartments with communal and office spaces for residents and staff.

Managed in partnership with United Welsh and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board as part of the Acorn Project, Acer House provides homes and individual, specialist support for people to learn and develop the skills, experience, and confidence to thrive independently.

It is a unique, collaborative service model by the housing and health sectors, that puts residents at the core.

New resident Molly moved to Acer House in September. She said:

“Since moving to Acer House, I’ve learnt to do things like how to pay bills and do my own washing, which has been brilliant. Staff are always here to help me.

“Moving here has helped me a lot. I feel like I can grow into who I really want to be, and I have an amazing team of staff behind me to support me through my journey. Acer House means a lot to me.”

Karen Tipple, Director of Specialist Housing and Wellbeing at United Welsh said:

“We’re really proud of the services we’ve created with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Our partnership is a unique model that allows us to shape services in a way that creates real and effective change for the residents we support.

“At United Welsh, we fulfil our core purpose of providing high quality homes and support for people, while also reducing the high cost of delayed discharges experienced by the health board. The service will also free up hospital placements that other people need.

“Acer House is a major step forward in our partnership and we look forward to continuing to see the positive impact the project creates for people’s lives.”

Megan Duffy, Lead Psychologist at Acer House from Aneurin Bevan Health Board said:

“Acer House is such an opportunity to work creatively to make a real difference in people’s lives. With the focus on relationships and connection at the heart of the project, we hope to support the residents to build their lives in the community.

“The joint working with United Welsh allows for safe and non-restrictive decisions to be made to allow for more opportunities for people to have their needs met in a compassionate way. We are already hearing about big changes that this is creating for the residents and we are passionate about continuing this.”

Acer House is a highly insulated and energy efficient apartment building. It was manufactured using timber frame structures by Celtic Offsite, a social enterprise within the United Welsh Group.

The development has been delivered in partnership with United Welsh, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Blaenau Gwent Council and the Welsh Government, receiving support from Welsh Government’s Land Release Fund and Integrated Care Fund.