Capital improvement programme

What is the capital improvement programme?
Is your estate included?
What are the aims of the capital improvement programme?
What is the decent homes standard?
What type of works is done through the capital improvement programme?
How did we decide which estates to include in the 2007/08 programme?
How can you find out what work will be done?
Useful links and frequently asked questions
Contact us

What is the capital improvement programme?

Capital works are those that will increase the value or lifetime of your home. It does not include day to day or minor repairs.

The capital improvement programme is a list of capital works that we draw up each year. It lists the estates where works will be started in the next 12 to 24 months.

The capital improvement programme list is put together by the Asset Management Team, and the works are done by the Technical Services Section and their five partners. The partners are private companies who work alongside Bolton at Home, to make sure that the capital works are completed. The partners are:

Bardsleys
Herbert T Forrests
Durose and Gourlay
Connaughts
Bramhalls.

Is your estate included in the capital improvement programme?

If you would like to know whether your estate is included in the capital improvement programme please click the link below which opens a spreadsheet containing full details (a full search facility will be available soon):

Capital improvement programme schedule spreadsheet (Excel spreadsheet, opens in a new window).

Please remember that the programme has been set for two years – April 2007 to March 2009.

What are the aims of the capital improvement programme?

The main aims of the capital improvement programme are to:

make sure that all of Bolton at Home’s properties meet the Decent Homes Standard by April 2008;
provide an improved, locally agreed standard; and,
allow customers and others to influence the capital improvement programme.

What is the “Decent Homes Standard”?

The government says that all homes must be warm, weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities in order to be decent.
The Decent Homes Standard is a standard set by the government for social housing. Properties belonging to all councils must meet this standard by 2010, but Bolton At Home has agreed to meet the standard by April 2008. By then, all our homes must:

meet the current legal minimum for housing, which at the moment is the 'Fitness Standard'
be in a reasonable state of repair
have reasonably modern facilities and services, and
give a reasonable degree of thermal comfort; in other words have effective insulation and efficient heating.

If you would like more information about the Decent Homes Standard please click on the link below: (External site, opens in a new window)

http://www.communities.gov.uk/decenthomes

What type of works is done through the capital improvement programme?

Lots of different types of work are done within the capital improvement programme, but the works that we spend most money on are:

electrics
heating
kitchens
bathrooms
external refurbishment (outside works including roofs, brickwork, doors)

Some examples of other items of work are:

fire protection
disabled adaptations
lifts
health and safety
environmental works
insulation.

If you would like to see a list of all the budget headings on the capital programme, please click here (Word document, opens in a new window)

How did we decide which estates to include on the 2007 / 2008 capital improvement programme?

We have tried to share the money so that we meet the government rules for decent homes. We have listed below the 5 main areas of work, and explained how we decided which estates would have these works done, in the following two years.

Heating

We focused on estates where there are still homes with gas modular heating systems. These are the systems where there are individual gas heaters in each room. We want to replace these with a more modern heating system.
We also focused on estates where there is no heating upstairs. We will fit systems that will heat the whole of the properties.
Next year, we will consider all the estates where a heating programme has not been completed or planned, in the last five years. These will include older central heating systems, boiler replacements and so on.

Electrics

We surveyed a number of homes on each estate last year.

Our surveyors advised us which estates need:
a full rewire
an upgrade (this might include extra sockets) or,
no work at all.
The full rewires will be completed first, followed by the upgrades.

External refurbishment (outside works to your property)

We looked at the information from a survey of one in ten of our properties, completed in 2001, as well as information from more recent surveys. We also looked at information from people who have an interest in the properties; this includes:

community housing managers
neighbourhood panels
BATRA
Councillors
repairs managers
individual tenants
resident associations and
many others

Click here to see a more detailed list of the people we have consulted with. (Word document, opens in a new window)

We compared the different pieces of information. This helped us decide which properties are in most need of outside works.
Our surveyors are now inspecting the outside of all the properties, where no external refurbishment programme is completed or planned. This is to make sure that we have not missed any estates that are in need of outside works to make them ‘decent’.

Kitchens and bathrooms

We looked at the information from a survey of 1 in 10 of our properties that was completed in 2001.

We also considered information from people who have an interest in the properties; this includes community housing managers, BATRA, neighbourhood panels, Councillors and so on.
This year we had a huge number of requests for kitchens and bathrooms. In line with the suggestions from a Neighbourhood Panel Champions training workshop, we decided to give priority to the requests put forward by the community housing managers.
We also looked at how including the estates recommended by the community housing managers would affect our Decent Homes targets.
Because of the huge number of requests we had, our surveyors are inspecting kitchens on estates where no kitchen programme has been completed or planned. This will help us decide which kitchens and bathrooms to work on next.

There are a number of other areas where money will be spent. Click here for more details about these. (Word document, opens in a new window)

How can you find out what work will be done?

The 5 main areas of work are:

electrics
heating
kitchens
bathrooms
external refurbishment (outside works including roofs, brickwork, doors).

We have written a “Design and specification manual” which lists the detail of the works that may be carried out. Your home will usually be brought up to the standard that the manual says.

For example:

If your home is rewired, your living room will have 3 double electrical sockets and one pendant light.
If a window is fitted it will be a PVCu frame with steel reinforcement.
Where a boiler is replaced it will be replaced with a high efficiency condensing boiler.

If you would like more information about this please click on the link below:

Design and Specification Manual (Word document, opens in a new window)

Useful links

Frequently asked questions about the capital improvement programme
Design and Specification Manual (Word document, opens in a new window)
More information about decent homes: http://www.communities.gov.uk/decenthomes (External site, opens in a new window)

Contact us

If you would like any further information about the capital improvement programme you can contact us in the following ways.

Asset Management team
Adelaide House
Adelaide Street
Bolton
BL3 3NY

Telephone: (01204) 335701

Fax: (01204) 335838

E mail: pcpfeedback@boltonathome.org.uk