£1.4m upgrade for council homes

Dozens of Shropshire Council-owned homes are set for a makeover as part of a £1.4 million investment.

A total of 72 homes in Weston Rhyn and Gobowen will receive a complete external makeover to include external wall and roof insulation, replacement roof coverings and new windows and doors.

The work has been agreed by Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing (STAR), the housing group which took over the running of 4,200 council homes in Bridgnorth and Oswestry in April last year.

Anglian Building Products (ABP), the large project division of Anglian Windows Ltd, has secured the contract to makeover the 72 homes for STAR Housing.

The £1.4 million contract will be completed in two phases, with the first phase about to start and the second following in May 2015.

Sixty five Cornish type prefabricated PRC properties and seven non-traditional post-war Swedish style timber constructed properties will receive the makeovers.

Tenderers were required to demonstrate the ability to access external funding to subsidise the cost of insulating the properties.

As a Green Deal approved installer, ABP was able to access ECO funding for the project.

Council bosses said ABP scored high on both price and quality to win the bid and the ability to manage client and tenant relationships and expectations was high on the list of requirements.

Housing bosses say community engagement before the start of work saw nearly all of the residents affected by the work connect with STAR Housing and the Anglian team who answered questions on the work involved.

Angela Douglas, asset manager at STAR Housing, said: "We have been working towards improving the energy performance of all our housing stock, so reducing our tenants energy bills and reducing the impact on the environment.

"This is our first external wall insulation project and we are pleased to be working with ABP who have a proven track record in successfully delivering similar projects."

Stephen Preece, ABP director, said: "This external makeover project showcases the full range of products and services that Anglian provides. Insulating these types of properties makes sense as it benefits both the residents and the environment."