Newly refurbished Harlow council home handed over to tenants

08 Aug Newly refurbished Harlow council home handed over to tenants

The keys to a newly created Harlow council home were handed over to tenants last week.

As part of Harlow Council’s current housebuilding programme, the council converted former supported housing scheme’s common room into a one-bedroom flat. The keys to this home were handed over to Mr and Mrs Abbott on Friday 3 August by Leader of the Council, Councillor Mark Ingall, who congratulated them and wished them luck in their new home.

Councillor Mark Ingall, Leader of Harlow Council, said: “I was delighted to meet Mr and Mrs Abbott this afternoon and honoured to hand over the keys to their new council flat. Mr Abbott, who works in recycling metal scrap in Harlow, told me how impressed he was with the quality and finish of the flat, so a big thank you to the team that did such a good job.

“This is the first in a trickle of new council houses for Harlow residents on the Housing Needs Register, that will become a torrent over the next few years. Harlow Council is committed to doing all it can to combat the housing crisis by providing homes on long-term secure tenancies at truly affordable council rents, but it needs the Government to commit to building council houses nationwide if the housing crisis is to be solved.”

Councillor Mark Wilkinson, Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “I am very pleased with the outcome of the conversion work that has taken place here at Partridge Court, which has created a new one-bedroom flat, temporary accommodation and a refurbished common room for the residents.

“This is, hopefully, the first of many such good news stories that we will be able to tell as our housebuilding programme kicks off again.

“I want to wish Mr and Mrs Abbott every happiness in their new home and thank the council and HTS staff who worked so hard to bring this project to fruition.”