Aberdeenshire Council is preparing to publish a huge £160 million contract for firms to upgrade and repair its housing stock.
The scheme is part of a 30-year plan to raise the quality of council houses across the region while also ensuring they are energy efficient and meet Scottish Government standards.
Four firms, Everwarm, Kier Construction, MPS Housing and Bancon Construction, have already been working in four separate areas across Aberdeenshire.
Now firms will be invited to bid for the next phase of the long-term project, which is understood to be for another four years.
Housing improvement programme to begin next year
Aberdeenshire Council has confirmed it expects the next wave of works to begin in mid-2024. However, it says timescales are still being developed for various elements.
The authority has published what is known as a “prior information notice”, which gives firms advance notice of a contract notice being published.
In the notice, Aberdeenshire Council says it has about 13,000 homes that would be included in the housing improvement programme.
Works included as part of the contract include:
- Roofing
- Windows
- Insulation
- Solar panel installations
- Kitchen and bathroom upgrades
- Heating
- Rewiring
- Energy efficiencies
A guide published by Aberdeenshire Council for tenants states: “We are committed to improving our council housing and to achieve this ambition we are investing around £40 million a year in upgrades to make sure that we offer high quality, energy efficient, healthy, safe and secure homes.
“Just the one main contractor will be doing all the different work that is planned within
your home. They will be appointing a Tenant Liaison Officer (TLO) to assist with the process.”
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