Over 12,000 council homes have already been made safer and healthier and a further 1,200 are in the pipeline to be made warmer and cheaper to run, as part of a multimillion investment programme by the council.
The council is set to invest more than £50 million from the council’s five-year £430 million investment programme to make around 1,200 council homes warmer and healthier, which includes a fresh investment of £10.5 million secured through the Government’s Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
The £10.5 million award is the largest single award secured by a local authority in London. The council’s application was successful as it met key criteria that displayed ‘ambition’ and evidence of ‘a proven track record of successful delivery’ including the ability to support delivery at scale.
Councillor Anthony Okereke, the Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “We’re serious about improving the homes and life chances of our residents and that’s why we’re investing hundreds of millions of pounds to achieve this.
“Our Housing Our Greenwich ambition is to ensure people have access to homes that are safe and secure, and so this extra investment from the government is very welcome in our borough.
“It is not only a resounding endorsement of our ability to deliver our massive programme but will mean that we can make sure our existing budget goes even further to ensure more council homes are warmer, safer, healthier and cheaper to run.”
The works will cover homes, from street properties to whole purpose-built blocks, with a current energy performance rating of C or lower as well as those with damp and mould issues which will benefit from energy saving upgrades.
These upgrades will be delivered over the next three years and include insulation, new ventilation, new windows and the replacement of communal boilers with heat pumps – which provide a more efficient and low-carbon way of providing homes with heating and hot water.
This boosted investment of over £50 million adds to the £48 million that the council has already spent in the first year of its £430 million investment programme, the biggest in a generation, to improve council housing in the borough.
In the first 12 months of the programme, the council enhanced over 12,000 council homes through improvements including new roofs, kitchens and bathrooms, electrical wiring and heating upgrades, lift renewals, door entry systems, as well as fire, electrical, gas and water safety improvements.
Cllr Pat Slattery, Cabinet Member for Housing Management, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness said: ““As part of Housing Our Greenwich we’re ambitious about improving and upgrading our homes to help our residents live happy, healthy lives, so I’m really pleased with the outcomes that we’ve delivered in the first full year of the programme, and I am delighted that we’ve been successful in gaining a further £10.5 million from the government to ensure our council homes are fit for the future.”
In addition, a share of £53.4 million Warm Homes: Local Grant funding via a GLA consortium bid, will also be made available to the Royal Borough of Greenwich for eligible low-income residents in privately-owned homes.
