Connaught collapse fears allayed

OLDHAM’S council tenants have been reassured that they won’t be affected by the collapse of housing repairs giant Connaught.

The group, which fixes council houses and employs 10,000 maintenance and repair workers, has gone into administration after rescue talks with banks broke down — putting thousands of jobs at risk. It also led to fears that vital repairs and maintenance work will not be completed.

Connaught had been contracted by First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) to carry out its Decent Homes work but the contract ended more than a year ago.

FCHO chief executive Hugh Broadbent said: “Our contract with Connaught came to a natural end more than a year ago so we have no contracts with them. There’s no impact at all on Oldham.

“Generally speaking they performed very well at the time.”