A plan, that aims to manage and improve council housing stock in Thanet over the next 30 years, has been approved by the council's Cabinet.
The Housing Revenue Account business plan was discussed at last night's (Thursday 11 March) Cabinet meeting. It sets out detailed plans for the next five years, but also looks ahead over the next three decades at the finances that will be available for council house maintenance and repairs.
Thanet District Council has more than 3,000 council homes, over half of them houses. The council has to meet national standards from the government, called Decent Homes, for all its properties by December 2010. These state that homes should be in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and services, be free of health and safety hazards and provide reasonable heating. The business plan sets out how the council will achieve and even exceed these standards over the next 30 years.
The vast majority of the council's homes already meet these standards. The final few will be decent by December 2010, making the council 100% compliant.
Over the next 30 years, the plan estimates that nearly £73 million will need to be spent on council homes. Around a third of this money will go on renewing kitchens and bathrooms, with other major work likely to include new central heating boilers and electrical work.
The plan also highlights some of the major regeneration work that the housing team are working on. The re-development of the Centre in Newington is one such scheme, with work expected to start in June 2010. The council is also working closely with groups and residents in the Whitehall area of Ramsgate on improvements to the Rec there.
Cllr. Zita Wiltshire, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: "This plan sets out the council's priorities for the homes we own, as agreed with our tenants and leaseholders. We aim to continuously improve the service that we offer to them and, part of that, is modernising the housing stock that we have. That job is continuous, with new facilities and improvements needed all the time. By carrying out this work, we can ensure that we have the money to deliver what's required of us."
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