Brighton & Hove council’s Housing Adaptation Service spent almost £1.2 million in the last financial year, adapting council homes for disabled residents.
These grants enabled disabled residents to stay in their own homes and maintain independent lives for as long as possible.
These included almost 800 minor adaptations, such as fitted hand rails and raised electrical sockets, and 329 major alterations costing over £1,000 each, such as replacing bathrooms with wet rooms, fitting stair lifts and ramps.
As well as helping council tenants the council also helps those who rent privately and own their own homes. Major housing adaptations in the private sector are largely funded through the Disabled Facilities Grant, (DFG), which made awards totalling £962,826 to the service to deliver adaptations last year.
In total 107 grant applications were completed, with the average amount of grant awarded being just under £9,000.
Councillor Bill Randall, Chair of Housing, said: “These adaptations drastically improve quality of life, allowing people to stay where they want to be: in their own home, in their own community, remaining independent, as well as near family, friends and familiar support networks.
“The team has worked really hard to ensure the service we offer has speeded up, with priority cases allocated within 2 weeks. This means that the whole household, the disabled resident, and those who care for them will gain the fullest value from the improvements to their home.”
The council’s Housing Adaptation Service has been working with the Tenant Disability Network, (TDN), to improve and update the information for council tenants about the service.
Alison Gray, Chair of the TDN said: ”It has been a great experience to collaborate with the council on this project. I am delighted that we have had our say and our knowledge and experience will make all the difference in making the information as ‘user friendly’ and informative as possible.”
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