New kitchens and bathrooms fitted to Dudley council houses in £170m plan

Improvements will be made as part of plans a £170 million programme of modernisation.

Central heating will be replaced in some homes and there will be work to improve insulation.

Dudley Council is proposing a £85 million housing budget for the new financial year, as well as a £173 million capital investment programme to improve council housing over the next four years.

It says the work will be aimed at cutting bills and helping people to continue to live independently in their own homes.

Dudley Council’s cabinet is expected to approve the housing budget at their meeting on February 12.

Cabinet member Councillor Laura Taylor said: “This budget outlines our commitment to tenants that we will continue to invest in their homes and the services that help to manage and maintain them.”

The budget proposes a 2.7 per cent rent increase, which will see the average weekly bill increase from £76.47 to £78.53.

Councillor Taylor said: “This additional income for the authority will allow us to invest more in services for tenants, while keeping rents lower than they were when we first began the rent decrease.”

The proposed housing budget for 2020/21 includes £19.5 million allocated to housing management to cover day-to-day duties such as income collection, tenancy enforcement and ongoing repairs.