One of the terms you’ll hear us use a lot is “bringing all our housing stock up to WHQS by 2020.”
It sounds great to us and it will be a major achievement…. but what does it mean to you, particularly if you are one of our tenants?
Well, it means that all our tenants will be renting housing that is of a certain standard, the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, a standard which is set by the Welsh Government.
Our council housing properties are:
- In a good state of repair
- Safe and secure
- Adequately heated
- Equipped with up to date kitchens and bathrooms
- Located in safe and attractive environments
- Be well managed
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We own over 11,300 properties, the largest number in North Wales and the third largest number in Wales. They’re all of a different age, shape and size and built from all sorts of different materials but all of them will need to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.
“Over £100 million has been invested in our properties”
Last year we spent a record £54m and this year a further £56.4 million will be ploughed into improvements to homes and also to the environment where our properties are. In Plas Madoc for example we are not only bringing the homes up to the standard but we are also taking a look at the whole environment and knocking down properties to create a more open and pleasant area to live.
All properties will have, or already have, new bathrooms and kitchens installed. This includes replacing kitchen units, sink units and laying safe floors, tiling and re-decorating and any necessary works required to make the kitchen to a high standard. Bathrooms will have new suites installed and a shower followed by tiling and re-decorating.
Some of our tenants haven’t wanted the disruption that the works will cause and have declined …… and that’s OK…. but we will be revisiting them to make sure they’re still certain they don’t want the works to go ahead. These properties will be brought up the WHQS when they become empty at some time in the future to make sure we have no properties that are not up to a high enough standard.
We’re also removing asbestos, improving insulation, repairing/replacing roofs and where necessary improving footpaths, outhouses/sheds/clothes drying facilities, boundaries, fencing…. the list goes on.
We’re proud of what we are doing to achieve the WHQS and we know the majority of our tenants are very pleased with the results.
Cllr David Griffiths, Lead Member for Housing, said:
“Achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard remains a priority for us in housing and I am very pleased that we are getting it right and our tenants are able to live in comfortable, warm and safe housing. Everyone involved in this major project deserves a big thank you!”
Take a look at our artist’s impression of how Plas Madoc will look following the works:
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