Saturday, February 16, 2013
9:00 AM
Thousands of council tenants will benefit from better homes earlier than planned, thanks to an additional £7.5million from Havering Council.
The multi-million pound project to improve council-owned homes in the borough is part of the Decent Homes Programme, which aims to bring council homes up to a reasonable state of repair, free of hazards and with adequate heating, windows, boilers, plumbing and electrics.
Two years ago, the council began a four-year project to bring 90 per cent of its remaining non-decent homes up to scratch.
At the time, it was planned that some 5,850 would be improved.
However, this new injection of cash means all 6,551 homes classed as non-decent will be improved by March 2015.
Cllr Lesley Kelly, cabinet member for housing, said: “Careful management of the funds generated from the tenants’ rent has meant we can use the extra money to bring the completion of the work forward, which is what tenants wanted us to do.”
A total of £101m – £62m from the government’s Decent Homes fund – will have been spent on the four-year project altogether.
There is growing concern for the welfare of a young Hornchurch man who has been missing since last month.
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