Home improvements receive warm welcome
“I couldn’t wait to move back to Ross House as it is my home and I missed it terribly. Anyone who had not seen it would think it was a new build – and those who had would think it was a different building.” These are the words of Charlene Knight-Whitmore, one of our tenants who has benefitted from retrofit work undertaken as part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) project.
Charlene moved back into the revamped Ross House, Folkestone in the summer and is delighted to be back in our first ‘net zero’ enabled residential block.
Elaine Cox, the Strategic Tenant Advisory Panel chair, officially reopened Ross House in July at an event attended by tenants, councillors, staff and tenant representatives. Attendees we were able to view the extensive retrofit work which included externally insulating and rendering the building, insulating the loft and under floor voids, installing photovoltaic panels on the roof and adding more energy efficient air source heat pumps.
The work was completed using funding from the first wave of the SHDF, alongside match funding from Folkestone & Hythe District Council. Over 120 homes have benefitted from energy efficiency improvements so far. With more homes set to benefit in 2024 following our successful bid for Wave 2 of SHDF funding.
The funding will be matched by the council bringing the total spend on improving the homes and wellbeing of tenants to £5.2 million. The new grant will continue the work begun last year and will enable us to improve the energy efficiency of a further 300 homes over the next two years.
Buying your home can be a complicated and sometimes confusing process. It is one of the biggest decisions that you will make and will affect everyone who lives in the property with you.
Thinking of buying your council home?
Owning a property brings with it many different responsibilities and financial commitments. These can include:
- Repairs to the property
- Mortgage payments
- Service charges for the upkeep of the property and estate
- There will also be other costs to consider, like buildings insurance
Over the past 12 months there’s been a steady increase in the Bank of England’s interest rates. This has in turn made mortgages more expensive. There’s also been a reduction in the range of Right to Buy mortgage products available. Therefore, apart from the usual documents needed to make an application to buy your home, we ask that you take time to consider whether buying the property is achievable and affordable to you.
More information can be found on our Right to Buy webpage including details of what’s required to make an application Please read through all the documents carefully before making an application.
If you have any queries about the Right to Buy, please contact leasehold.service@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk.