£1M Cash Boost for Sandwell Home Improvements
Sandwell Council has received more than £1M to help local homeowners improve their homes in 2008.
The money has been allocated to the Council from the West Midlands Kick Start Partnership, a regional scheme that aims to assist low income and vulnerable homeowners in making essential improvements or repairs to their homes.
The Partnership, which includes Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Stoke, Walsall and Wolverhampton Councils, works with ART Homes Ltd, a not for profit financial organisation, to provide specialist home improvement loans to homeowners that wouldn’t normally be able to access loans from a bank or building society.
To date over 400 people, including 84 residents in Sandwell, have benefited from the scheme and received loans for works such as double-glazing, new kitchens and bathrooms and essential repairs such as rewiring or roof replacement.
Councillor Hussain, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Housing, said “This is great news for homeowners in Sandwell. We know that there are thousands of people in the Borough who own their home but, for whatever reason, don’t have access to savings or loans from traditional high street lenders to carry out repairs. This scheme will help those people unlock some of the money tied up in their homes to pay for repairs and improvements.”
The award winning West Midlands Kick Start Partnership has been such a success that it has now been given funding by the Government’s Regional Housing Board for another five years.
Homeowners wanting to know more about the scheme in Sandwell can contact the Council’s Home Improvement Team on 0121 569 5232.