Five to share £230m of housing upgrade

Local outfits have lined up with major league players to share in £230m-worth of housing upgrade work in west London.

The deal, for Hammersmith and Fulham Council, is to bring around 13,500 homes in the borough up to the government’s Decent Homes Standard.

In the mix are local contractors Breyer and Diamond Build, together with national firms Lovell, Balfour Beatty and Connaught.

The work is scheduled to start on site later this year for Hammersmith and Fulham Housing Management, the council’s arm’s length management organisation, which was set up in June 2004.

The scope of the work includes new kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems; replacement windows and doors; rewiring; roofing; and general fabric repairs.

The work will be divided into four areas, with one specific to sheltered housing. The entire project, procured under the strategic partnering banner, is due for completion in 2010.

A council source said: "At least 50 firms originally registered interest in the contract – the prospect of guaranteed work for five years is hard to resist.

"We then pared the list down to 30, and, from that, the final five emerged. It was a huge undertaking."