Salix Homes residents raise a cup to refurbished homes
Nov 6, 2013
Residents living in sheltered accommodation are celebrating the completion of major improvement works at their homes.
For the past six months, we have been working with Salix Homes to overhaul 45 homes at the Broomedge sheltered housing complex in Broughton, Salford.
The £500,000 improvement scheme has seen 29 homes in the main building and a further 16 cottage flats overhauled to bring them up to the government’s Decent Homes standard. The flats, which were built during the 1960s and cater for elderly residents, have been completely rewired and fitted with new kitchens, bathroom and doors. The communal lounge was also given a makeover and the laundry room has been refurbished.
Externally, the main building has been cladded to give it a fresh, new look and the old roof has been replaced. Green-fingered residents also lent a hand to makeover the communal gardens planting new plants and trees including a ‘Salix’ tree in honour of Salix Homes.
Residents Carole and Charles Wood are thrilled with their new-look home. Carole said: “I feel like I have been given a new lease of life, everything is now practical and simple. We are so delighted and proud of our new kitchen and bathroom.”
Salford-based housing provider Salix Homes was recently named by Salford Council as the chosen landlord to take ownership of the 8,500 council homes in Salford they currently manage in a proposed stock transfer.
This latest regeneration work forms part of a wider multi-million pound home improvement programme across Salford and the housing provider is promising to invest a further £700 million over the next 30 years if the stock transfer goes ahead.
Joe Willis, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “Salix Homes is committed to improving homes and communities in Salford now and into the future and we’ve been delighted to work alongside our contractors Emanuel Whittaker to bring a new lease of life to these homes which were in dire need of upgrading.
“This investment has made an enormous difference to our tenants’ quality of life and we are proud to be able to provide them with modern and desirable homes which are comfortable and economical to run.
“We appreciate the patience of our tenants during the refurbishment work, but we know they are as pleased as we are with the results, which is testament to all the hard work that’s been put in.”
As the majority of the tenants are elderly, Salix Homes and Emanuel Whittaker have worked closely with residents to ensure minimum disruption.
Paul Robinson, site manager at Emanuel Whittaker, said: “The majority of tenants living here have benefited not only from work on their own individual flats but also from improvements to the communal areas.
“As many tenants are elderly and some quite frail we have been very careful to ensure that we worked closely with them or their families to keep stress levels to a minimum and with satisfaction levels running at 100%, I think we can confidently say we have succeeded.”
Mike Copple, chairman of the Broomedge Residents Association, has been impressed with the standard of service. He said: “Emanuel Whittaker staff have gone more than the extra mile in ensuring as far as possible that inconvenience to the residents was minimised and where issues arose they were dealt with in a caring and sensitive manner.”
To celebrate the end of work, residents enjoyed a tea party in their new and improved communal lounge.
Garry Holt, resident liaison officer with Emanuel Whittaker added: “The tenants are a great bunch and we will be sorry to leave. The tea party is our way of saying thanks for having us. It’s been lovely to see so many people turn up to say goodbye.”
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