More council tenants have received new kitchens and bathrooms as part of our major housing improvements work project.
The work is being carried out to ensure we achieve the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.
Ruabon is one of the latest areas where council owned homes have been modernised. This includes St Michael’s Sheltered Housing scheme, which is made up of 38 individual properties.
Unlike a nursing home, our sheltered housing schemes feature self-contained flats, bedsits or bungalows with their own kitchens and bathrooms. A Warden and a Community Alarm Centre provide 24-hour cover in the case of emergencies.
They are aimed at people of retirement age who would like to retain their independence but would benefit from someone to call in an emergency.
“We’re very glad we said yes..”
The Kitchen and bathroom replacements At St Michael’s were carried out by our contractor, GM Jones.
Mr Tom Kenmuir and Mrs Julie Kenmuir, who live at St Michael’s, welcomed the improvement work. Mrs Kenmuir said: “It can be quite a big job having a new kitchen installed but to be fair the workers here were great. Very friendly and polite. The hardest part is while they are taking out the old kitchen, but once that’s’ done and you start seeing the new kitchen coming together things start getting much easier!
“We’re really pleased with how it looks now and very happy that we agreed to have it done. We were able to choose from a list of colours and designs to get it how we wanted and it’s very modern and good quality. This should last us for many years now!”
Homes being made fit for the future
Kitchen and bathrooms replacements are just one part of the huge modernisation project we’re undertaking to make sure tenants homes meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
We’re also carrying out other improvement work, where required, such as electrical rewires, new central heating systems, external wall insulation, reroofing work and improvements to gardens and external areas such as paths and fencing.
Local Member for Ruabon, Cllr Dana Davies, said: “I’m very pleased that the improvement work programme has now reached Ruabon and that tenants here have been able to benefit from modernisation work to their homes.
“Work on this scale can present many challenges but it is so important that homes are made fit for the future and the feedback from tenants such as those at St Michael’s has been very positive so this is very good news for social housing in Wrexham.”
Thousands of properties already improved
Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Pritchard, said: “We’ve invested record amounts on improving homes over the last few years, including £56.4m in 2017/18 alone. This has allowed us to bring thousands of properties up to a higher standard than ever before and it’s something we should be very proud of. This work is set to continue until all our tenants are able to live in homes which are safe, modern, comfortable, and fit for the future.”
The funding for the work to achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard includes a £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) grant, which is awarded to local authorities, annually, to help them carry out the necessary improvement work to meet the standard.
For more information on the work being carried out to achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard visit the council website.
If you think you or someone you know might benefit form living in sheltered housing take a look at our section on retirement accommodation.
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