NIHE Announce 100 Tenants In South Down To Get Double Glazing

Tenants in the Newry area are benefitting from new contracts worth £17.5m that will see all Housing Executive homes in Northern Ireland fitted with double glazing by 2015. Work is underway at 82 homes in Kilkeel, Hilltown and Newry, with an investment of over £141,000. Social Development Minister Mervyn Storey saidxa0“Improving the thermal efficiency of all Housing Executive homes by installing double glazing in all properties by March 2015 was a Programme for Government commitment made by my predecessor and when I assumed my new post as Minister, I was pleased to hear that the Housing Executive is confident all of the schemes required to meet the target will start on site this year. “This is great news for tenants as replacing single frames with double glazed frames will ensure their homes are warmer and less expensive to heat.” Mags Lightbody, the Housing Executive’s acting Chief Executive, said:xa0“We have worked hard to ensure that we deliver the Minister for Social Development’s commitment to provide double glazing in all our properties by the end of next year. “I am delighted our double glazing programme is underway. The tenants who live in these homes will be among 7,800 households to benefit from this programme. “It will be a major boost for our residents living in those homes. By replacing them now, tenants should benefit from greater energy efficiency, noise reduction as well as lower heating costs. “This is a new start for the Housing Executive. We have new contracts in place, not only for our double glazing but also for our major improvement schemes. This year we plan to spend £90million on improving our tenants homes.” The Housing Executive’s programme this year involves 58 schemes and includes around 7,800 homes. During the course of the contracts, our contractors will liaise with residents and the Housing Executive to ensure the work achieves the high standards set and expected.