Work starts on £27m overhaul of borough’s housing stock
Dec 31 2008 by Brian Daniel, The Journal
A CONTRACTOR has been appointed to carry out a £27m overhaul of a Northumberland borough’s housing stock.
Berwick Borough Housing (BBH) has chosen Gentoo Construction to refurbish its 1,900 homes, bringing them up to Decent Homes standard over the next five years.
Berwick Borough Council’s housing stock was transferred to BBH and partner Three Rivers Housing Association last month. This followed a 78.8% ‘yes’ vote from 1,753 council tenants last year.
The social landlord has properties across the borough including at Berwick, Belford, Wooler and Seahouses.
Neil Brown, managing director of BBH, said: “At transfer, we outlined our commitment to our customers and our plans for investment and it’s great to be making such significant progress at this early stage.
“We are delighted to appoint Gentoo Construction after a competitive tender process. They have a fantastic track record and we’re confident that they can provide an excellent service and help us to deliver our promises to customers.”
Work has already begun, with a number of properties visited to assess what improvements are needed.
Gentoo Construction also held a jobs fair last week to appoint staff needed to carry out the work.
Dave Piggett, managing director of Gentoo Construction, said: “This is a really exciting time for everyone involved, the contract signals the intention of Berwick Borough Housing to provide a quality service and lasting improvements for its customers.
“Such a large investment will make a real difference to housing in the area and will result in a large number of employment opportunities for local people.
“We’re eager to get started and look forward to working closely with the local communities.”
The process to appoint a contractor has been ongoing for the past five months, with consultant Hall and Partners acting as procurement advisers for BBH.
Gentoo Construction, part of Gentoo Group, is based in Sunderland and has helped the group’s own social landlord division to achieve Decent Homes standard five years ahead of schedule.
