COUNCILLORS will meet today to give their approval to a far-reaching programme of improvements to council homes across Stockton borough.

The package, totalling £9.6m, will see improvements to hundreds of council homes, as well as providing grants for work to be carried out in the private sector.

Officers are preparing detailed work programmes, but the good news for tenants is that projects should get off the ground across the borough from April.

They would include an extensive external painting programme, a programme of kit-chen and bathroom works and the continuation of the redevelopment of the Holmes and Middlefield areas, of Thornaby.

Councillor Steve Nelson, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for housing and community safety, said: "We are determined to start making the improvements to people's homes that we know are much-needed.

"We were given extra money by the Government for our capital programme this year, in recognition of our clear strategy and following our assessment as the leading housing authority in the region for the second consecutive year.

"We will, however, continue to push for more resources and are acutely aware that even this latest package of improvements falls well short of what we would need to do to improve all of our homes to the standard we would like."

To achieve that, he said, they would be faced with a bill of £140m, but he assured that they would do everything possible to secure the additional funds.