Halfway mark reached in Sheffield’s Decent Homes Programme

Arbourthorne tenants, Mr and Mrs Poulson, are helping Sheffield Homes mark a major milestone in the city’s Decent Homes Programme, by showing off their newly improved home.

 

Fifty per cent of council homes within Sheffield now reach the Decent Homes standard, that means they are warm, weatherproof and have modern facilities. Sheffield Homes, the organisation managing council homes in Sheffield, has completed work on nearly 15,500 homes.

 

Jon Lovibond, Director of Investment, Sheffield Homes comments “The significant investment which has been made since 2004 is making a huge difference to people’s lives across Sheffield. Not only through the improvements to people’s homes - fitting new bathrooms and kitchens, installing central heating and other work, but also through the creation of 1,500 jobs and the opportunity for 250 people to be trained in construction skills.”

 

The programme is also resulting in a range of other benefits for the city including improvements to the health of residents, and an important contribution to the green agenda for the city. 

 

Mr and Mrs Poulson say they are delighted with their home improvement work  "We’re really pleased with the work that has been done, the difference it has made has been incredible! The tradespeople from Lovell who completed the work were reliable and very professional. Not only have we now got a fully fitted new kitchen, but also a new bathroom with an upstairs toilet. My wife and I are both retired now, so we can really enjoy our home to the full.” 

 

“This landmark for the city’s Decent Homes programme is as a result of the strong partnerships that have been developed between Sheffield Homes, its construction partners, and, most importantly, the city’s residents,” says Lovell regional director Steve Hale. “We’d like to thank residents for all their cooperation and support during this major housing refurbishment programme.” 

 

Sheffield Homes is managing the largest Decent Homes programme in the country, delivering £669 million of Government-funded improvements to over 40,000 council homes by 2010. The work is being carried out in partnership with Lovell, which carried out the work to this property, plus Connaught Partnerships Ltd; Keepmoat plc; Kier Sheffield LLP; Henry Boot Construction Ltd; Mears Group plc, and Wates Living Space.