Kier Stoke is backing a new scheme to help people buy homes for just £1 and contributing to a £3m regeneration plan of the local area.

Kier, which provides repairs and maintenance to more than 19,000 properties in Stoke-on-Trent, is carrying out £1m of internal and external renovations, including chimney works, roof repairs, replacement doors and windows and floor and stair repairs on 33 empty properties, which are on the market for just £1. The company, which has employed 20 local subcontractors to carry out the work, will also replace heating systems, wiring, kitchens and bathrooms in the properties.

The regeneration project was pioneered by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, offering people the opportunity to purchase one of the currently derelict homes for just £1. Successful applicants must take out a £30,000 loan to improve the property, which is then paid back over ten years, with significantly lower monthly payments than renting a property in the same area.

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Stoke residents Lawrence and Teresa Poxon have been provisionally approved to purchase a £1 house in Denbigh Street, which forms part of the regeneration scheme. Mrs Poxon, aged 46, said: "For us, buying one of the £1 houses is about security, as there’s no way we would have been able to take out a mortgage. Knowing that we will own our own home in 10 years' time is an amazing feeling."

More than 600 people applied for homes during the first two rounds, with 24 applicants successfully approved. The council is accepting applications for the other nine homes until May. Prospective owners need to be living or working in Stoke to be eligible, with the council extending the criteria to also include forces personnel who formerly lived in the area and those with a regular income but who no longer work.

The first home is scheduled to be handed over in March, and Kier hopes to complete all the improvements by early June.

(CD)