MARCHES Housing Association, which last year marked its tenth anniversary is now celebrating another milestone following its acquisition of a block of apartments in Hereford.

The block of sixteen homes in Old School Lane in Hereford has been acquired from English Churches Housing Group and will be the subject of investment, in particular to upgrade the security system to ensure the tenants feel more secure.

Although Marches owns or manages in excess of 2,500 rented and shared ownership homes across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, this acquisition takes the number of rented properties it owns, in its own right, to 2005 - appropriate for this year

"We're delighted to have acquired these homes from ECHG," says Marches' director of operations, Chris Boote.

"Clearly we will be able to offer tenants a much more local and responsive service through our Hereford office than ECHG could offer from their base in Warwick.

"We are happy to welcome the new tenants to Marches and look forward to providing them with the quality of service they deserve."