Home Improvement Work Praised by Sheltered Housing Tenants

Council tenants at a sheltered housing scheme in Wrexham have welcomed improvement work which has been carried out on their properties.

Parkside sheltered housing scheme in Overton contains 18 bungalows and 4 flats as well as a communal lounge area.

Tenants at Parkside were offered new kitchens and bathrooms as part of Wrexham Council’s ongoing housing improvements programme to ensure all its housing achieves the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.

The improvements will see every tenant in the County Borough offered a new kitchen and bathroom, if their property requires them to achieve the standard. This will include sheltered housing tenants in all 23 of the council’s schemes

The kitchens and bathrooms at Parkside were installed by contractors, Top Notch, who are carrying out the improvement work in the Overton ward for Wrexham Council.

Speaking about the improvement work, 
Parkside tenant, Margaret Matthews, said, “I’m very pleased with the results. Having so much work done to my home did cause a little disruption but the work badly needed doing and all the tenants here have helped each other along the way.

“I’m very glad I agreed to have it done now. I was able to choose which design and colours I wanted and the difference it’s made to my home is what made it worth going through. I now have a brand new, spotless kitchen and bathroom and they are a joy to live with.

“It’s never been used by anyone else and it means it’s up to me now to keep it looking as clean as it does now.”

Top Notch Contracts Manager, Jon Carroll, described the project as ‘rewarding’, adding: “We’ve been working very closely with the council to overcome any challenges and make sure the tenants and their properties are given the best service possible.

“We are very proud to work alongside the council on this project and we hope to see many more happy tenants as we continue.”

Local Member for Overton, Cllr Lloyd Kenyon, added: “The kitchen and bathroom replacement project is wonderful news for our council tenants. I’m very pleased that work is being carried out to modernise their properties and make them fit for the future.

“The contractor also donated some external improvement work to a local community centre in Penley so it’s been great to see council and contractors engaging with the local community during this project.”

Wrexham Council are investing £54m across Wrexham in housing improvement work in 2016/17. This includes a £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant which is awarded by the Welsh Government to local authorities to support them achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

As well as kitchen and bathroom replacements, the work will also include other external and internal improvements on properties across the County Borough such as electrical rewiring and External Wall Insulation.

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Ian Roberts, said” “This investment has given us a fantastic opportunity to modernize our entire housing stock and ensure all our tenants have homes that they can be proud of and are which are fit for the future.

“We want to try and go the extra mile with the quality of the work we’re doing which is why tenants are being given a choice for the colours and designs of their new kitchens and bathrooms.

“There is inevitably some disruption involved in having major improvements carried out but I would urge all our tenants to agree to have this work done if they can.

“It will be worth it in the long run and you only have to look at the difference it’s made to these tenants at the Parkside scheme to see that.”