CAERPHILLY council has signed a £70 million, ten-year contract with Abergavenny - based Robert Price Builders Merchants for work on its housing stock.

The local authority is set to invest £210 million in its 11,000 properties by 2019/20 after residents voted against transferring responsibility to a social landlord.

After more than a year of planning a strategy, it announced that Robert Price, which has branches around Gwent, will work alongside it as its partner.

They have devised what the local authority calls the ‘Caerphilly Approach’, which is aimed at achieving the required Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

The work will be aimed at increasing tenant satisfaction, community benefits, jobs growth and achieving carbon reduction targets.

Robert Price will be solely responsible for managing the supply chain for products to be used in the modernisation of council houses - with new bathrooms, kitchens and other features set to be installed, as well as those used for improving community spaces and gardens.

They will supply these to the council’s in-house workforce.

The company’s sales director Malcolm Jones called it “a significant boost” and said it will mean jobs will be safeguarded and others created.

Councillor Gerald Jones, deputy leader of Caerphilly council and cabinet member with responsibility for housing, said: “The award of this contract marks a significant milestone in the arrangements for the WHQS works and the commitment given to tenants to bring all council homes up to this standard by 2019/20.

“Using a single supplier will ensure standardisation of products and more efficient administration.”