More than £34 million set to be injected into Flintshire’s social housing

Flintshire  Council is set to invest more than £34 million into its social housing stock in the next year.

The amount includes just under £23m on improvements to kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors, as well as other initiatives, such as adaptations for people with disabilities.

Meanwhile, more than £11m has been allocated to ensure that more council houses are built during the 2019/20 financial year.

In total the local authority manages approximately 7,300 homes within the county.

Cllr Bernie Attridge (Lab), deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for housing, said the Housing Revenue Account business would lead to a number of improvements for tenants.

In a foreword to the document, he said: “The council continues to value the principle that a good quality home is at the heart of individual and community wellbeing and is committed to enabling the provision of appropriate and affordable homes, particularly for those in the greatest need.

“Some of our successes to date include the delivery of 100 new council homes through our Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme (SHARP).

“The whole SHARP new build scheme will deliver 500 new social and affordable homes by 2020 whilst providing new jobs and training opportunities for local people, as well as much needed new homes for local people.

“In addition, we have exceeded our delivery targets for the Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS), improving our stock and providing quality homes for our residents, through the installation of new kitchens, bathrooms and rooves, and improving the local environment.

“We are on schedule to complete the WHQS programme by 2020.

“This annual business plan sets out our priorities for the forthcoming year and provides the basis for the lifetime of the plan including growing the housing stock by a minimum 1,000 over the lifetime of the plan.”

Rent levels for the upcoming year are set to go up in line with the Consumer Price Index at 2.4 per cent.

Social landlords will also be able to impose a rise of up to £2 per week if the average weekly rent is below their target rent band.

Garage rents are also set to go up by £1 per week under proposals which the council’s cabinet will be asked to support on Tuesday.

All rental income local authorities receive must be held within their ring-fenced Housing Revenue Account.

This means the funding can only be used towards council houses and not for other general expenditure such as education.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).