Investing to improve your homes
Investing in our homes remains a priority so that we continue to have great places for our customers to live, and our assets team continues to work on our 2022-23 programme of improvements to homes.
We are currently working on four major projects delivering new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors. A further six similar projects are also planned for this year’s programme delivering a total of £7.2m of improvements to our homes by April next year.
In addition, 40 of our communal blocks and schemes are scheduled to have painting and decoration completed this year with most of these works due to start from late summer. A further £1m of investment is taking place across seven blocks of flats across our regions over the next nine months to improve communal areas, increase safety and make homes more energy efficient.
Fire safety projects remain a key priority. We’ll be spending approximately £3m this year on this type of work, including replacement flat entrance doors and smoke and fire detection systems in communal areas and other fire safety measures highlighted following detailed inspections. The team is also looking to undertake a £400K fence renewal project in our Blackburn, Lancaster and Morecambe regions, which will start from early September.
When it comes to specific projects, as well as completing our landmark £3.9 million Bowland House project in Blackburn, below is a snapshot of some of the other projects the team has been working on across our regions.
South
In Stockport, we’ve started work at Clifford Court, 87 flats spread across 10 blocks providing both sheltered and rented accommodation. This £1 million project will see extensive improvements including new tarmac to roads and parking, new grassed areas, new flagged paving and bin stores, new planting areas, boundary walls and trees, and the demolition of existing garages to create new parking bays. Our contractor, TJM Projects Ltd, will also paint the internal communal areas in all 10 blocks. Work is expected to be completed early next year.
Central
We’re about to start a major makeover of NHS Key Worker accommodation we manage at the Royal Oldham Hospital. Oak House and Beech House, originally built in the 1970s, contain 52 rooms designated for medical professionals coming to work in the local area. In the past few weeks we’ve completed a pilot renovation of some of the rooms, bathrooms, communal lounge and bedrooms with our contractor Emanuel Whittaker. The full refurbishment project will start in the next few weeks and complete around spring 2023.
North
Fire safety projects remain a key priority. We’ll be spending approximately £3m this year on this type of work, including replacement flat entrance doors and smoke and fire detection systems in communal areas and other fire safety measures highlighted following detailed inspections. The team is also looking to undertake a £400K fence renewal project in our Blackburn, Lancaster and Morecambe regions, which will start from early September.
Our Investment Programme (2022 -23) to date in figures
£1.7 million
spent on improvements to existing customer's homes
£475,675
spent on building safety work
£95,160
spent on electrical testing and rewiring
£58,496
spent on installing specialist aids and adaptions to customer’s homes
A combined total of 534 customer kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors and boilers replaced