More than £30 million are set to be spent on improving council homes in Reading this year.
Reading Borough Council is one of the biggest landlords in the town, as it is responsible for approximately 5,833 council house properties, including temporary accommodation.
As such, the council’s Labour administration is investing a substantial amount of money for improvements to these homes for its tenants.
The council is investing £30.1 million (£30,138,000) on a series of projects that include repairs, maintenance and both interior and exterior improvements to its housing stock.
The biggest dedicated spend will be £9.9 million to refurbish the external fabric, windows and roofs of the Coley high rise flats in Wensley Road.
Explaining these works, a report by Natalie Waters, the coiuncil’s assistant director of housing landlord services states: “The proposals for the three blocks of flats at Wensley Road estate include several measures in line with the councils Zero Carbon Strategy, the major elements included within the scheme are the replacement of the external insulation together with triple glazed windows and a new waste management system.”
The council will also spend £.7 million (£3,772,000) on any works that would be required to ensure the housing stock meets the Decent Homes Standard – legislation from 2006 that dictates living standards that must be adhered to in council properties.
The housing department will spend £3.1 million on responsive repairs and £2.2 million on kitchens and bathrooms.
This involves ensuring new kitchens are large enough to accommodate fridges and freezers and introducing lever taps in kitchens and bathrooms, which are easier for tenants with hand mobility problems to use.
The council is also spending £1 million on a variety of projects.
This amount will be spent on conducting external repairs and decorations, new windows and minor ‘void works’ that involve making improvements to homes between tenancies.
A majority of the funding will come from the council’s Housing Revenue Account, which is funded through the affordable rents it charges.
Councillors approved the budget for the improvements and a 2.7 per cent increase in the rent it charges tenants at a full council meeting on Tuesday, February 25.
But the itemised spending on each project must also be approved by councillors on its housing, neighbourhoods and leisure committee, which will meet on Tuesday, March 11.
Councillors are being asked to approve the planned maintenance work programme set out above and delegate authority to the executive director for communities and Matt Yeo (Labour, Caversham), lead councillor for housing, to enter into the necessary contracts to fulfill the projects.
These projects cover what the council’s housing department will do for the upcoming 2025/26 municipal year.
