UPGRADES to a swathe of Redditch council homes are set to begin in March.

A total of 228 council flats and houses in the Abbeydale area are to be externally painted and fitted with new roofs, guttering and fascias over a six month renovation project by Redditch Council, which will also add brand new porches to the houses within the programme.

Tenants in the area have chosen the colour scheme from swatches of colours that council officers painted onto a gable end wall for everyone to compare.

Aqua green and blue were written off as residents plumped for more understated pastel colours of buttermilk, beige, mushroom and cream.

The council's housing capital team has saved a significant amount of time, money and inconvenience for residents by combining the separate painting and roofing works, reducing the scaffolding costs by almost 50 per cent.

Council property services officer Adrian Guida-Jones, who is project managing the works, said: "Scaffolding is a significant element of the cost so cutting that in half means we can get this work done far cheaper, in less time, with less disruption to the residents."

And Councillor Mark Shurmer, who is responsible for housing, said: "This is the latest work in the council's on going, rolling program to improve our housing and keep it all up to the decent homes standard. The tenants have had a lot of involvement too, which is important."

Budgets, contracts and work schedules have all been agreed and subject to weather conditions the work could start as early as February.