Poor North West council homes get £110m upgrade grant

Substandard council houses across the North West are to be upgraded through a £110m government grant.

Manchester, Salford, Blackpool, Cheshire West and Chester councils have been allocated funds through the Homes and Communities Agency.

They were among 50 UK authorities to submit applications for a share of £1.6bn funding to improve 150,000 poorly-maintained council homes.

The bids were assessed to ensure that they promised maximum value for money.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "To reflect our commitment to fairness and protecting the most vulnerable people in our society, we set aside over £2bn at the spending review to bring as many social homes as we can up to scratch - this was despite the tough decisions we took to tackle the record deficit.

"Too many families live in non-decent accommodation, so I am pleased that so many of them will see a difference to due this funding."

Pat Ritchie, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency said: "Our involvement does not end with this investment, and we will now work with councils and other landlords to maximise the impact of funding."