£1.35m housing investment programme completed in Northumberland village

Over the past 10 months, Karbon has worked with regeneration specialist contractor, RE:GEN Group, to modernise and improve 115 houses and bungalows.

Customers have benefited from structural maintenance and upgrades to their homes, as well as new roofs, fencing and boundary works and energy efficiency improvements.

Nathan Lowes, investment team manager at Karbon Homes, said: “We’re really pleased with the results of this major investment work.

“The estate looks noticeably improved as a result.

"Most importantly, the feedback from both our customers and other residents in the area has been really positive.”

Karbon customers Paul Dove and Zoe Elliott had work done to the home they’ve lived in for 13 years.

Paul said: “I am so impressed with what’s been done and pleased with the difference it’s made to our home.

"Just one element was adding the extra insulation around the dormer windows and now it’s noticeably warmer in both bedrooms and I’ve seen a drop in our gas bill, which is brilliant with the cost of energy going up.

“Our son has autism and doesn’t cope well with loud noise or disruption but the team were brilliant and made sure to work around him, scheduling the big, noisy work for the days he was out at college. It was just a small thing but made us feel really valued.”

Once the work was completed, colleagues from RE:GEN Group joined Karbon’s housing management and investment teams on a community clean-up.

Nathan added: “Alongside providing great quality homes, we also want to look after our customers and neighbourhoods so we litter picked around the estate and helped local residents to clear items that were more difficult to dispose.

“During the programme, we discovered that two residents, Mr and Mrs Scott, were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, so Karbon and RE:GEN bought a cake and card to celebrate with them.”

The work was part of a larger, £4.5m investment programme by Karbon, improving homes across Northumberland and County Durham. RE:GEN Group was appointed for the full programme delivery.

Paul Flannigan, CSR Director for RE:GEN Group, said: “We are extremely happy with the results and feedback received, and we look forward to continuing our work with Karbon and its customers.”