THE majority of council homes in Welwyn Hatfield have been brought up to government-set standards of being warm, weatherproof and with reasonably modern facilities.

Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing Trust – set up by the borough council last year to manage its social housing stock of 9,300 homes – has hit the Decent Homes target, just ahead of deadline at the end of 2010.

There is, however, 339 properties which haven’t had the required work done – either because tenants didn’t want it, where it physically couldn’t be done, or where refurbishment is already scheduled as part of planned improvement work later this year.

Trust chief executive John Briggs said: “A great deal of hard work and significant investment in maintaining and improving housing stock, over a long period, has been done by both the council and the community housing trust to ensure tenants in this community enjoy a Decent Home.”