Home Improvement Programme Moves On to New Phase

Fri 21 Oct 2016

Bethan Powell and Roxanne Collins with tenants Myfanwy Bradley and Sylvia Redmond

NPT Homes’ multi-million pound investment scheme to bring its properties up to modern standards has moved on to an exciting new phase.

 

Up until now the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) improvement programme has concentrated on upgrading the buildings, but now work is moving outside in order to improve tenants’ gardens.

 

Under the new programme of works, the gardens and boundaries of over 9000 properties will be inspected and upgraded where appropriate. This could include new fences, paths or walls to ensure the gardens are safe and secure.

 

This phase of the WHQS project got underway in Lower Brynaman recently and will be rolled out across Neath Port Talbot in the near future.

 

Whilst the scheduled work has begun in Brynaman, gardens throughout the Borough will also have immediate work done if there is an urgent need or if there are safety concerns.

 

Amongst the tenants due to see improvements to their gardens are those in Highfield Street, Briton Ferry. Their front gardens have a six foot drop to the pavement below and so safety fencing will be erected with some properties also benefitting from new gates, hand rails and drain covers.

 

One resident who will benefit from the work is Myfanwy Bradley. She said:

“I can’t wait to have the work done. It will mean that my garden will become safer and more secure with new fences. A new handrail will also mean I can get up the steps to my house a lot easier.”

 

Overseeing the transformation of the gardens are NPT Homes Tenant Liaison Officers, Roxanne Collins and Bethan Powell. They’ll be in close contact with tenants throughout the duration of the work to keep them up to date on progress and to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Roxanne said:

“It’s an exciting time moving on to the next phase of our WHQS programme and these external works will bring our gardens up to scratch. My role is to keep our tenants fully informed during the process and to ensure that I relay any of the residents’ queries or concerns to our contractors.”

 

The WHQS is a standard that has been set by Welsh Government that requires all social landlords to improve their housing stock to an acceptable level. This will see NPT Homes spend £220 million on improvements to its properties by 2017.