As the government announces that 250,000 affordable homes are needed each year, some local authorities are looking at innovative options to restore and renovate existing properties to meet growing demand.
Over the last 12 months, approximately £120m has been invested in renovation for social housing and a £30m regeneration project in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire is proving effective in maintaining the Council’s housing stock to a very high standard.
The five-year scheme will provide improvements to those properties within Ashfield District Council’s housing stock of around 6,800 requiring improvement works, with work being carried out in the area by construction services company J Tomlinson Limited based in Beeston, near Nottingham.
Since the contract began, around 2500 homes and tenants have already benefitted from various works including replacement kitchens, bathrooms, central heating systems, windows, external doors and roofing.
Pioneering manufacturer, Russell Roof Tiles worked closely with J Tomlinson Limited and their subcontractor, Avonside Group to provide nearly 200k Highland tiles in a cottage red colour for re-roofing. The tile, which is part of Russells’ Commercial Range, is a traditional concrete flat roof tile with a mock joint, which gives the appearance of small slates or tiles when they are laid broken bonded.
With a roof making up 40 per cent of a home’s façade and appearance, it was important that the tiles reflected the original roofs in the area while ensuring the sustainable benefits of a concrete tile. The product provides consistency and longevity for the tenant while minimising future life time costs of the roof once installed.
Andrew Hayward, Managing Director at Russell Roof Tiles said: “We are pleased to have worked on such an important project that will provide sustainable long-term benefits for residents in Sutton-in-Ashfield – especially at a time when demand for renovations to social housing is at its highest.
“Our concrete roof tiles replicate the appearance of natural looking roof tiles while providing the benefits of greater strength and delivering a technically consistent and quality product.”
Russell Roof Tiles is a leading independent roof tile manufacturer providing products for leading UK house builders and high-profile social housing and commercial projects, where sustainability and eco-credentials are of the utmost priority.
Paul Parkinson, Director of Housing at Ashfield District Council said “We are pleased to be working closely with J.Tomlinson and Russell Roof Tiles on this scheme. It is important to us that as part of the upgrades to our housing stock we are using roof tiles that provide the same look as those we are replacing, but at the same time are a cost effective, hard wearing and sustainable option.”
