Kettering Council completes £3.2m social housing refurbishment

Kettering council has completed a £3.2 million refurbishment of two blocks of flats that will be available for social rent.

The work on Hamilton House and Montrose House has been done by regeneration specialist Lovell, which made many internal and external improvements to the 1920s flats in Hampden Crescent.

Lovell regional refurbishment director Carl Yale said: "The flats had become unsuitable, especially for tenants with children.

"They were cold and out of date. The change of mix to one and two-bedrooms has also meant the building is now suitable for single occupiers and couples."

The final stage of the refurbishment in Hamilton House saw 11 three-bedroom flats transformed into 18 one and two-bedroom apartments. The works also added communal areas, play areas and improved car parking.

It is hoped the refurbishment will make the flats more appealing to families, couples and single people and make them more suitable for current housing needs.

Work on Hamilton House started in August last year and included an extension to create disabled ground floor flats, two new staircases for acess to the new homes and a plant room for a new renewable heating system.

Work on Montrose House, the adjacent building on Hampden Crescent, was completed by Lovell in 2018.

Mr Yale said: "It’s been very satisfying to deliver such a significant program of change for Kettering, especially with the backdrop of the pandemic. In fact we all take huge pride in being able to help provide local people with the homes that are modern, warm and more energy-efficient."

During the works, the two shops in the ground floor of Hamilton House were able to stay open and a resident liasion team from Lovell made sure the local community were not disrupted too much.

Dave Parker, site manager for Kettering Council said: "We are very satisfied with the entirety of the refurbishment project, although the site was closed throughout lockdown, Lovell was able to push forward activity as soon as the site re-opened. We worked together closely.

"The site was managed efficiently and to a very high standard. We are really pleased with the outcome."

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