A £15 million deal which will see thousands of council houses upgraded has been finalised.
Caerphilly County Borough Council has announced that construction firm Vinci Facilities will be refurbishing kitchens and bathrooms and providing new wiring and heating for almost 10,000 homes across the borough over a six-year contract period.
The work is part of a wider £200m investment programme to bring the council’s housing stock up to Welsh Quality Housing Standards (WHQS).
Tony Raikes, Managing Director of Vinci Facilities, said: “This is a great project to be involved with and it plays to Vinci Facilities’ strengths – our commitment to the people affected by the work we do and a passion for delivering social value through partnerships.
“The refurbishment of homes in Caerphilly County Borough would never succeed if service providers failed to support the wider regeneration strategy.
“We welcome the opportunity to play our part in creating better homes and communities wherever we are working. What’s more, this project reflects that our customers recognise our experience in this field.”
Analysis of current housing stock indicates that there are more than 4,000 homes that require renewal of all key internal components including kitchens, bathrooms, rewiring and heating. There are at least 9,500 homes that require a new kitchen and about 8,500 homes that need a new bathroom.
Meanwhile residents have been invited to a special meeting of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee. The meeting will be held on Tuesday July 29 at St David’s Community Centre, High Street, Rhymney, starting at 5.30pm.
Councillors sitting on the committee are set to discuss the local authority’s WHQS programme.
Tenant representatives who sit on the Caerphilly Homes Task Group will be attending the meeting to speak on behalf of tenants.
Cllr Hefin David, Chair of the council’s Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee, said: “Taking scrutiny out of the council offices and into communities is a good way of finding out what is happening in those communities.
“Councillors will be able to see at first-hand the progress that the housing improvement programme is making and then ask questions of cabinet members and officers.
“Members of the public are welcome to observe all scrutiny meetings but getting out of the council offices will make the meeting more accessible to council tenants.”
• The council is set to invest £4.2m to bring a number of properties in Rowan Place, Rhymney up to WHQS. The funds will allow the council to address issues with damp and damage to the outside of homes.
Tenants living in the worst affected properties will be offered the opportunity to relocate to a newly refurbished empty property in Rowan Place.
Members of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet authorised the works earlier this month.
Cllr Gerald Jones, Deputy Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council and Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “Our WHQS programme aims to transform homes, lives and communities.”
I am correct in saying that Vinci Facilities are not a Welsh company, they do have an office in Cardiff but this does not make them Welsh. With the Welsh government constantly harping on about sustainability and growing the Welsh economy I would have thought contracts like this would be kept in house so to speak. It seems ethically wrong to award contracts like this to companies from outside Wales.
From the article it looks as if the, so called, Welsh Government, had little to do with this selection. The decision was made by the council.
My house needs a new bathroom, kitchen and several other jobs but I can’t afford to spend all the required money. The government in Westminster could boost the economy by reducing the VAT to 5% on all domestic improvements. This would make things more affordable and provide work.
I would go further and abolish the VAT but while we are part of the EU happy gang we are prevented from doing this.