Bolton at Home officially took ownership of over 18,000 of Bolton Council’s homes today (Tuesday 29 March) – marking a historic day for housing in the borough.
The transfer of ownership of the homes from the council to Bolton at Home creates a new beginning for affordable housing in Bolton.
It means Bolton at Home can start to deliver the £124 million, five-year investment programme which tenants voted for last summer.
Ready to hit the ground running from day one, Bolton at Home will start the massive programme of work to bring homes and estates up to the Bolton Standard, the standard tenants said they wanted to see.
The improvements include around:
- 8,300 homes to get new or upgraded bathrooms and kitchens.
- 6,650 homes to get external works.
- 3,600 homes to get new or upgraded heating systems.
- 2,000 homes to get an electrical rewire.
- 7,450 homes to benefit from environmental improvements, such as new fencing.
Tenants who are due to have work carried out on their home will receive information on Bolton at Home’s investment work for the first five years very soon.
Cllr Nick Peel, Executive Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods and Regulation said: “This is a historic day for Bolton as the housing transfer goes ahead. Consultation with tenants resulted in a clear vote in favour of Bolton at Home becoming the new landlord and unlocking many millions of pounds to modernise homes and estates.
“The council is looking forward to working in partnership with Bolton at Home in the future for the good of the whole borough.”
Jon Lord, Chief Executive of Bolton at Home, said: “We have a big challenge ahead. Tenants have put their faith in us and are expecting great things from Bolton at Home. We are confident our organisation will deliver on all the promises made to tenants.
“We’ll be starting our improvement programme immediately. Our customers will be central to everything that we do and we’ll work together to provide homes and neighbourhoods we can all be proud of.”
Noel Spencer, Chair of the Board at Bolton at Home, said: “I have been the Chair of Bolton at Home since it was formed in 2002 and I’m delighted to be the Chair at the point of transfer.
“We have all worked incredibly hard to get to where we are today. I’m proud that we now have an even stronger organisation that is funded to deliver the improvements our tenants have told us they want to see for their homes and communities - this allows us not only to safeguard the investment in services and jobs, but be able to look at new employment opportunities, particularly apprenticeships as we move forward. This is a really important day for social housing in Bolton.”