Sheltered housing gets a 'spruce up'

Fourteen sheltered housing schemes and an emergency accommodation scheme will be getting a major face lift when our staff volunteer to take part in a week long project involving gardening, painting and decorating.

The 'spruce up' project is sponsored by our major works contractors who are currently improving homes with thousands of new kitchens, bathrooms, central heating and wiring systems and repairing roofs. Together they are donating more than £2000 worth of materials and providing skilled staff to lead teams of volunteers to undertake the work. More than 70 Stevenage Homes employees will be working in shifts to make improvements to communal gardens and other areas used by vulnerable tenants.

Each part of the project has been identified by tenants. Work will include weeding and tidying gardens, repairing damaged trellis work, painting garden benches and fences and redecorating shared kitchens and communal hallways.

Lorraine O’Brien, chief executive of Stevenage Homes, who will be taking a shift in the gardens at Fred Millard Court, said,
‘We hope to transform each of the areas that we are working in, so that people living in the schemes can enjoy them. I’m really grateful to all the staff who are taking part in the project, I know that they will work really hard to make a difference to our customers’ homes.’

Cllr Ann Webb, portfolio holder for housing, added,
‘This is a wonderful example of what the staff and contractors working for Stevenage Homes are doing to make life better for the people of Stevenage.’

The 'spruce up' week begins on Monday 26 July, finishing on Friday 30 July.