Thousand of South Tyneside Homes tenants across the borough will soon be benefiting from Decent Homes work sooner than originally planned thanks to a successful bid to bring forward government funding.

South Tyneside Council and South Tyneside Homes have been told they can use more than £18 million of Decent Homes money a year ahead of schedule.

This means improvements to almost 5,000 homes as well as increasing energy efficiency with extra insulation work and energy efficient heating systems. It will also lead to future savings on the annual maintenance budget of £1 million.

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As well as the benefits to tenants, the bid will have a positive impact on the local employment market. South Tyneside Homes has three established partners; Frank Haslam Milan, Gentoo and Dunelm that are delivering internal works in addition to the "in-house" Property Services team who are delivering a mix of Decent Homes works, planned and responsive maintenance.

Councillor Bill Brady, Lead Member Housing Futures, said: "This is excellent news. I'm delighted that the Council and South Tyneside Homes has the opportunity to bring forward the improvements to decent homes. Getting this £18million a year earlier than originally thought will allow more work to begin ahead of schedule which will make an enormous difference to the condition of estates across South Tyneside and the quality of life of our tenants."

(CD/KMcA)