This time last week, a multi-million pound investment in the local social housing stock was agreed by Woking Borough Council.

Since housing services returned in-house in April 2022 and the Liberal Democrats took over running the Council in May 2022, it has become clear that the Woking Council’s housing stock is in a poor condition and requires significant capital investment. The investment will deliver a programme of vital safety improvements to many Council homes.

The Lib Dem Executive have agreed a capital budget of up to £16.8 million for 2024/25 that will focus on the high-risk fire safety remedial works, along with some outstanding Decent Homes Standard improvements. This marks a significant increase in the housing capital programme, which has stood at around £4 million for many years.

I welcome this significant and much-needed investment. Providing safe and decent homes must be a priority for this Council and for too long its focus has been elsewhere. As a result we’ve been failing to deliver the quality of service expected of us by our tenants and the Regulator for Social Housing.

This important and significant investment is about getting our house in order. It means we can deliver essential fire safety remedial works and begin to meet the Decent Homes Standard.