Delivering in local government: How Labour is building a better Britain everywhere

Labour councils up and down the country are helping to improve the lives of their residents.

Week in, week out, Labour councils, working in partnership with the NHS, Homes England and the Labour Government, are getting things done for their local communities on the things that matter to local people.

Every week, Labourlist brings you a selection of the great work being done by Labour councils and Labour mayors.

This week we feature:

• Major road resurfacing programme underway in Reading
• Ninety-nine new council homes at Greenwich Millennium Village
• Plans to extend Rhondda school granted permission
• £5m home improvement programme to benefit 200 Bolton households
• Nottingham Council expands Clifton housing development 
• West Midlands Mayor supports electric sports car jobs in Nuneaton
• North East Mayor launches loan scheme for energy efficiency improvements

Please send news from your council to Paul Dimoldenberg at [email protected].

Reading: Major road resurfacing programme underway

A programme of major road resurfacing is under way across Reading, including seventeen stretches of main road. Resurfacing has been taking place in Caversham, central Reading and also includes Friar Street, Bath Road and Henley Road.

The programme follows the Council’s biggest ever investment in road maintenance in Reading, which has taken place over the last six years. In that time, the Council has invested £9 million and a further £8 million programme of improvements to major and residential roads which has resulted in a 39 percent reduction in pothole reports from the public. The number of residential roads in good condition in Reading has increased from 35 percent to 79 percent.

Greenwich: Ninety-nine new council homes at Greenwich Millennium Village

The Labour Royal Borough of Greenwich has bought 99 brand new homes for families on its housing list as it steps up its drive to provide more council housing. The new homes at Greenwich Millennium Village, set around two lakes and an ecology park, are part of the council’s drive to deliver 1,750 sustainable new council homes.

The Council’s approach combines building and buying to deliver 756 new Greenwich Builds council homes so far, and a further 505 are under construction – with more sites in the pipeline, using the Council’s own funds, in combination with a grant from the Mayor. The new council homes at Greenwich Millennium Village will soon be joined by a larger 452-home, 100 percent social housing scheme at Kidbrooke Park Road. The scheme’s first phase has already won multiple awards and has been shortlisted for a RIBA prize.

Rhondda: Plans to extend Rhondda school granted permission

Planning consent has been secured for plans to extend an additional learning needs school (ALN) in Rhondda. The Labour council plans to expand and refurbish the Buarth y Capel satellite site of Ysgol Ty Coch, located in Ynysybwl. The new extension will be completed by the end of 2027.

The plans include the construction of a stand-alone teaching block with six classrooms, breakout rooms, hygiene room facilities, accessible toilets, and a maintenance store/plant room. The two buildings will be linked by a canopy walkway. Associated works will include photovoltaic panels on the south-facing roof, a soft play area, a new 18-space car park, a covered six-bay cycle shelter, new security fencing, and access control gates.

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Bolton: £5 million home improvement programme to benefit 200 Bolton households

Around 200 households across six Bolton communities are set to benefit from a major £5 million investment in social housing, delivering a wide range of improvements designed to create warmer, safer and more energy-efficient homes. The refurbishment programme, delivered by Be One Homes, will focus on improvements to homes in the most energy inefficient communities. A grant of just under £2 million from Bev Craig, Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, will support the energy efficiency works in line with the Government objective to have all homes at least EPC C by 2030.

The first phase of the programme will focus on the properties in the Platt Hill and Hulton Lane areas of Deane. Over the next three years, Be One Homes will extend the refurbishment programme to additional estates and properties across the borough, including: 

• Hargreaves House, Bolton town centre
• Shireburn and Meadowside Estate, Tonge with the Haulgh
• Harpers Green Estate, Farnworth
• Hall i’th’ Wood Estate, Tonge Moor

Nottingham: Council expands Clifton housing development 

The number of new homes to be built at the Laura Chambers Lodge site in Clifton is set to be significantly increased by Labour Nottingham City Council as part of its commitment to delivering good quality, affordable housing for local people. The proposal will see the scheme grow from 40 to 52 high-quality, affordable homes, alongside an increase in investment in the project from £10.77 million to £11.97 million. The expanded scheme will provide a mix of houses and apartments on the site, helping to contribute to the Council’s housing delivery targets and to alleviate pressure on the waiting list for council homes and homelessness services.

Warwickshire: Mayor supports hundreds of electric sports car jobs in Nuneaton

Electric sports car maker Longbow plans to start production of its limited-edition Speedster at MIRA Technology Park near Nuneaton next year, followed shortly afterwards by its Roadster model, creating more than 200 skilled jobs. It aims eventually to make more than 13,000 cars a year, mainly from UK-made parts. Longbow is receiving £3 million from Richard Parker, Labour mayor of the West Midlands, which will be matched by the company.

Longbow has already set up a research and development centre at MIRA and will open a training centre so its workers can qualify to Institute of the Motor Industry standards. Richard Parker said: “We’ve been building cars here in the West Midlands for 130 years, so what better location for a new generation of carmakers like Longbow.” The region’s automotive sector includes around 1,000 companies employing more than 46,000 people.

North East: North East mayor launches loan scheme for energy efficiency improvements

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has launched a loan scheme to support homeowners with energy efficiency improvements through a partnership with Lendology CIC. The North East Warm Homes Loan will help people make improvements such as insulation, solar panels, heat pumps, energy-efficient windows and doors, where they may need affordable finance to meet some, or all, of the cost. The loan scheme offers finance from £2,000 to £25,000, with a 2 per cent fixed interest rate, repayment terms of up to ten years and no early repayment charge.

The scheme will be available across the North East, with a particular focus on households experiencing or at risk of fuel poverty and homes in the private rented sector. Lendology CIC will manage the loan scheme and support customers from application through to repayment.

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