Council Tenant Praises Improvement Works Carried Out At Property

A Wrexham Council tenant has praised improvement works recently carried out to their property.

Community leaders visited the home of Sonia McLeod in Cefn Y Bedd to view the new kitchen and bathroom that have been installed by Wrexham Council as it continues improvement works to bring its housing stock up to the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.

The project includes offering new kitchens and bathrooms to every Council owned property in the County Borough where they do not currently meet the standard. Other internal and external improvements are also being carried out on properties, where required, including electrical rewires, new central heating systems and External Wall Insulation.

Cefn Y Bedd is one of the most recent areas to receive new kitchens and bathrooms. The work here has been carried out by one of the Council’s major contractors, Novus Property Solutions.

Commenting on the works carried out at her home, Sonia McLeod said: “I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the work they’ve done. I’ve lived at the property for 21 months and this needed doing so it’s good to know the house is fit for the future now.

“It can be tough having so much work done inside your house and the disruption it causes but it was definitely worth it. I’m very pleased with how it’s turned out.”

Local Member for Gwersyllt North, Cllr Michael Williams, added: “The completion of the kitchens and bathrooms programme here is a really positive story for the local area and I’m delighted to see that Council properties have been modernised and brought up to such a high standard. The work done at the property we’ve seen today looks fantastic and I hope tenants will be thrilled now that their homes are being made fit for the future.”

Wrexham Council’s housing improvement project received a huge financial boost in February when the Council’s Executive Board approved a further investment of £54m for work to continue over the next 12 months.

The investment 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.

Wrexham Council says the £54m budget for the coming financial year will fund, amongst other works:

· 2,500 properties offered new kitchens and bathrooms
· 600 properties being offered new heating systems
· Around 900 properties being rewired
· Over 750 properties being re-roofed
· 187 properties having External Insulation fitted

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Ian Roberts, said: “This year’s record investment means that we will have spent over £90m on housing improvement work between 2015-2017. This has allowed us to carry out the most significant programme of improvements Wrexham has seen in many decades.

“I’m delighted with the positive response we’ve had from tenants and I hope they will be inspired to keep their properties in top condition once they’ve received the improvement work, which is what we’ve seen at the property we’ve visited today.”