RESIDENTS living in a street in Cwmcarn are being given grants of thousands of pounds to make repairs to their homes.

Caerphilly County Borough Council's cabinet has agreed to hand over grants to cover 100 per cent of the costs of repairs to be made to a row of terraced homes between one and 46 George Street - amounting to around £44,000 for every two houses.

The grants will go towards the renewal of rear retaining walls, steps and other works, and will be funded by the council’s Housing Revenue Account and the Private Sector Housing Capital Programme.

The repairs are being done to ensure the safety of residents and the wider community, in addition to reaching the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

A report presented in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, November 10, said: “The design and condition of the rear of the properties means that many families with very young children are not able to use the rear gardens at all.”

Of the properties, 30 are council-owned, while the remaining 16 are privately-owned.

The walls of two adjoining council-owned properties – numbers five and six – deteriorated to such an extent that they had to be taken down for safety reasons and the gardens battened back as a temporary measure.

Cllr Shayne Cook, cabinet member for housing and social care, said the council had a responsibility as a landlord.

Plaid Cymru councillor Lindsay Whittle welcomed the council’s support and said it was a “long outstanding problem” for residents.

The report said that, due to the design and construction of the existing walls and steps, the scheme could not be undertaken without the inclusion of the private sector properties.

Therefore all the properties – council-owned and private – will receive financial support from the council.

The properties are all four-bedroom terraced houses, which were built along the contours of the valley before 1919.

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