Renovation, renovation, revelation!

HOME sweet home . . . George and Megan Skibinski settle back in with a cuppa

MILESTONE 500th HOME IS REFURBISHED
NEW kitchen, new bathroom, new central heating . . . Megan and George Skibinski are over the moon with the revamp of their Chadderton home.

And the bungalow, in Cypress Avenue, is the 500th property to be refurbished as part of the council’s sheltered housing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract.

The initiative will see a total of 1,500 properties renovated to improve quality of life for Oldham’s older tenants as well as giving them more choice and independence.

Oldham Council has teamed up with Housing 21 to complete the project with building work carried out by Bullock Construction.

Mr and Mrs Skibinski had to move out of their home while work was being carried out and were offered a full support package to help them cope with the changes.

The 30-year partnership between Oldham Council and Housing 21 is part of the largest PFI project of its type in England and will transform more than half of the council-owned sheltered homes.

The PFI contract has secured more than £400m of investment and will provide sheltered and specialist housing for older people throughout the borough.

Councillor John McCann, cabinet member for community services and housing, said: “We have reached a major milestone in what is a wide ranging project that will have a massive impact on the quality and type of sheltered accommodation that is available.

“The work is continuing at sites across the borough and I am delighted that the partnership between the council, Housing 21 and Bullock is delivering homes that make a real difference to the lives of older tenants.”

Kath Miller, operations manager, Housing 21 said: “We are very pleased to have successfully reached our 500th refurbishment and to have improved the quality of life for our tenants.

“Tenant satisfaction with their new homes has, overall, been very high.”

Mr and Mrs Skibinski, said: ‘We were apprehensive at first, but we are very happy with the improvements. The workmen are a good set of lads and the help we had from Housing 21 and Bullock support staff made sure things went smoothly.”