We’re investing £15.9 million in our customers’ homes

New roofs and windows for 500 of our homes; refurbishing tower blocks; and installing fire safety measures are among some of the areas we will be investing in over the next 12 months, we’re pleased to announce.

Continually improving our customers’ homes to make sure we provide high quality, safe places to live is one of our main priorities - we know how important this is to our customers.

As ever, the safety of our customers, staff and contractors is paramount and to deliver our planned investment for the next 12 months we are adapting our working practices in line with government guidance to minimise the risk of Covid-19. All work on our customers’ homes will be delivered safely in line with these new practices and we’ll explain them fully to customers before the work begins.

This year we’re investing £15.9m in five key areas. This will pay for:

• Fire safety measures. We’ll be replacing communal corridor fire doors in our blocks of flats and carrying out “fire stopping” works to contain any fire, should it occur in our homes, and stop it spreading. Work will begin in late summer 2020 and continue into 2021.
• Work on our tower blocks. We’re continuing with the refurbishment of the tower blocks Littlemoor House in Greenacres and Montgomery House in Hollinwood. This year we’ll be replacing the external wall insulation and windows, which will help to provide more energy efficient homes leading to energy bill savings for customers. In 2021 we will also be starting the demolition of both Crossbank and Summervale House as part of our West Vale redevelopment programme – find out more on the West Vale web page.
• Replacing roofs, windows and repointing over 500 of our homes. This work is to make sure that the structure of our properties remain sound, and our homes are safe and warm long into the future.
• Work inside our customers’ homes. We’ll be replacing kitchens and bathrooms and rewiring homes, where these works are needed to provide homes which are fit for the future. We’ll also continue to deliver our adaptations programme, replace boilers and invest in unoccupied properties to provide safe, warm homes which meet our customers’ needs.
• Improving communal areas in our neighbourhoods, to ensure they are places in which our customers feel proud to live, and carrying out our Stock Condition Surveys. We survey our homes every five years to assess their condition and help us plan where we need to invest money in our homes.

Heidi Thompson, our Executive Director of Homes and Investment said: “We’re committed to providing high quality homes and great neighbourhoods in which our customers can thrive and we’re targeting properties where we know improvements and modernisations are needed most. This fresh investment will ensure that our existing housing stock is well maintained, energy efficient and meets the needs of our customers now and into the future.

“I’d like to reassure all customers that their safety – and that of our colleagues and contractors – takes precedence and all work will be carried out safely in line with government guidance to minimise the risk of Covid-19. If you have any questions about this please get in touch with our Contact Centre on 0161 393 7117 or email servicecentre@fcho.co.uk.”

To read more about how we’re investing in our customers’ homes, please visit our Investment page on our website.