£4M FACELIFT

Residents in an area of Derby are being offered the chance of a £4m facelift for their homes. Up to 600 privately-owned houses could benefit from the Osmaston Housing Improvement Zone scheme, which aims to improve private houses. Work will include roof work, double glazing, the rebuilding of boundary walls and painting. The houses' security will also be improved. Newsletters from Derby City Council's housing and advice services have been sent to residents and the council is now waiting to hear from those who are interested in having the work done. Owners are usually expected to pay 25% of the total cost but occupants can apply for a "means test", which could result in them paying less.

The average amount spent on each property is expected to be about £7,500. Matthew Hands, area renewal manager for housing and advice services, said, "The programme is expected to last for four years and, in total, we'll spend about £4m. We've had replies from about 50% of the residents saying that they want to have the work done. Work will be done in blocks of about 25 houses and a letter is sent to each address a few months before. I expect that this will cause more interest. Some people see it as a scheme that takes four years to complete and this doesn't create a great amount of urgency. We're aiming for about 85% of the residents in Osmaston to have the work done."

During this time, surveyors from the council will visit each property to see what work needs doing. Mr Hands said that houses in Osmaston had been chosen for a specific reason. He said, "The housing in Osmaston is beginning to look run-down. We want to ensure that the houses appeal to buyers for the next 30 years." Work is to be done on predominantly pre-1919 homes in Osmaston Road, Grosvenor Street, Cotton Lane, Abingdon Street, Handel Street, Hardwick Street, Davenport Road, Hawthorn Street, Gresham Road, Nightingale Road and Tennyson Street.