| Tuesday 2nd May 2005 |
164/2005 |
The second year of a massive five year programme to improve the borough’s 24,000 council homes has just been completed.
Wigan & Leigh Housing bosses say around £67million was spent during 2004/05, bringing the total investment to date to a staggering £110million.
Working with ten partner contractors, Wigan & Leigh Housing has spent over £25 million on kitchen improvements, around £10 million on roofing, over £13 million on environmental and security improvements, £1 million on insulation and over £17 million on planned maintenance works including structural repairs, painting and new hardwood front doors.
10,700 tenants have had new kitchens, 3,500 have had new roofs, 8,000 have benefited from new fencing, gates and off street parking and another 8,000 have had planned maintenance works carried out.
And residents are showing that they are delighted with the way the work has been carried out. In surveys carried out after improvements have been completed, 93% of tenants said they were satisfied with the work.
John Roe, Joint Chair of the Wigan & Leigh Housing Board says:
“Tenants on our stock investment committee set the priorities in the improvement programme, and they put kitchens, fencing and parking improvements at the top of that list. We are making good progress and all this work is having a significant impact on the image and appearance of our estates. Demand for council housing in the borough has never been higher.”
Over the next 12 months, a further £63 million of improvements will be carried out to 8,000 kitchens and 1,700 roofs, in addition to 5,000 planned maintenance works and 3,500 environmental and security improvements.
For more information, please contact Phil Brown, Business Services Manager, on 01942 486535.