Blackpool to get £20m to renovate council houses

BLACKPOOL Council is to receive £20m over the next four years to improve the quality of council properties.

It was announced late last year that Blackpool was no longer on the list to receive the funding but following a strong bid from the council and Blackpool Coastal Housing the Government reconsidered and has granted around £5m a year for improvement works over the next five years.

Cllr Lily Henderson, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for housing, said: “This is announcement is such welcome news. Although we haven’t received all of the funding we had previously been allocated we have received the majority, which is a huge relief.

“I promised that we would fight for the people of Blackpool and that’s what we’ve done.

“Proof of how hard we fought is the fact that many councils received nothing.”

The Homes & Communities Agency has just completed a review of funding previously made under the Decent Homes Standard and allocated a total of £1.6bn of funding to 46 local authorities.

“Decent Homes funding has already transformed the homes and lives of Blackpool residents and I’m delighted that the good work can continue,” said Henderson.

Peter Jefferson, chief executive of Blackpool Coastal Housing, said: “After finding out we weren’t due to receive any funding in the next financial year we’ve been working hard with the council to fight our corner.

“The Homes and Communities Agency have said that only the authorities with the strongest case and most affordable proposals were successful in their bids and I’m delighted that we were one of them.”