Looking good

GOING up... Bricklayer John Winterbottom from Bramall Construction working on a Werneth property

£800,000 facelift for more than 100 houses

AROUND 110 homes in Werneth have been given a facelift and neighbouring areas are also set to benefit from major improvements.

Residents on Manchester Road, Tamworth Street and Cambridge Street are benefiting from the first phase of works being carried out by Bramall Construction.

Improvements to the Cambridge Street homes will complement the new houses built with Housing Market Renewal funding on nearby Devon Street and Norfolk Street.

More than £800,000 has been invested in the exterior improvements scheme in Werneth this year, masterminded by Oldham Council and the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder.

The contractors have rebuilt boundary walls, installing new railings, and have fitted new gutters and rainwater pipes. Repointing stonework has led to an improvement in the condition and appearance of front walls. Many residents have chosen to make their own improvements at the same time.

Margaret Sumner, neighbourhood programme manager, said: “Refurbishing the houses is giving a new lease of life to people’s homes, as well as enhancing the appearance of the neighbourhood as a whole.”

Councillor Mohib Uddin, cabinet member for regeneration, added: “It is good to see the area being revitalised.

“This continuing refurbishment programme is offering properties the much needed facelift for which the area has been waiting many years.”

The latest homes to be included in the improvement programme are on Oxford Street and Cornwall Street.

The work will bring the total number of refurbished houses across the HMR neighbourhoods of Werneth and Derker to more than 500 since the Pathfinder began work in 2004.