Council homes WILL be finished on time - pledge

The organisation controversially set up in 2004 to oversee refurbishment of the borough council’s 20,000-strong housing stock was named 2010 Rotherham as a promise that the work would be finished by that date.

And the firm’s operations director, Matthew Spittles, said this week that contractors were on target to complete renovations under the Decent Homes scheme by the end of the year.

Since April 2006, 16,638 properties have had Decent Homes work carried out and 18,405 have been fitted with replacement windows and doors.

Almost £300 million has been spent so far on the refurbishment programme, which has not been without its problems.

2010 itself has endured a series of internal troubles and, in the past four years, the

Advertiser has reported several tenants’ complaints of unfinished work or renovations they were unhappy with.

But Mr Spittles said that the vast majority of residents were delighted with the home makeovers.

“Thanks to the Decent Homes Programme, thousands of Rotherham tenants are now living in warmer, safer homes and enjoying the benefits of more modern bathrooms and kitchens,” he said.

“We have worked hard to keep work on schedule and are delighted that we will finish the programme on time and in budget.

“Throughout the programme, we have made it a priority to keep customers informed about when and what work will be taking place and have listened carefully to their views.

“We have also worked hard to keep the inevitable disruption to a minimum. “Satisfaction ratings of over 90 per cent throughout the last four years show that this has been appreciated.”

The aim is to complete Decent Homes work on 19,310 properties out of a total housing stock of 20,950.

The properties where no work is being carried out are those which meet the Government’s Decent Homes standard already.

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