A meeting of the Caithness committee yesterday saw councillors agree a two year Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme that will see £4,204,420 spent on making improvements to Caithness council homes over the next two years.

On top of this funding, an additional £300,000 will be ring-fenced to provide aids and adaptations to assist tenants requiring extra support to stay living in their homes as long as possible.

The council is responsible for maintaining 2054 homes across Caithness. In the Wick and East Caithness wards there are 1208 residential properties and in the Thurso and Northwest Caithness wards there are 846.

During 2019/20, £2,050,982 will be used to carry out upgrade works, including: replacing kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors as well as structural work to roofs, chimneys and the external fabric of properties. Money will also be used to carry out heating and energy efficiency work in line with the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

For the period 2020/21 the investment will rise to £2,153,438.

Chair of the committee, Cllr Matthew Reiss, said: “This is our share of the wider Highland Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme and will be used to carry out work to our housing stock that has been identified as a priority. We are all aware that much of our housing is in need of investment. Having this clear way forward over the next two years will allow us to make the most of the funding we have so I would like to thank my fellow councillors, our maintenance teams and tenants for their assistance.

“I am particularly pleased that funding to carry out specific work to help tenants with special needs has been set aside as it is important that we do all we can to help people adapt as their needs change. Following referral from an Occupational Therapist this work can include making sometimes very simple adaptations within the home that have a big positive impact on the quality of life for anyone needing extra support to continue living in their council home.”