Riverside is investing more than £1.4m to refurbish 29 long-term empty homes in the Smithdown area of Liverpool, bringing them back into use for social housing tenants.

The programme covers properties on Holmes Street, Longfellow Street, Wendell Street and Whittier Street. Work began on site in March and is expected to be completed by the end of July.

The refurbishment is being led by Riverside’s in-house repairs service. Works include structural repairs, roof replacements and improvements to external walls, as well as internal works including painting, decorating and recarpeting.
Riverside said all works will meet the Empty Homes Standard, with the properties required to be safe and clean before new tenants move in.
The programme is being supported by more than £750,000 from Liverpool City Council’s Local Authority Housing Fund, alongside Riverside’s £1.4m investment.

The homes will be offered to applicants currently registered on Liverpool City Council’s housing waiting list.
The latest programme follows Riverside’s repair and reletting of five former empty homes on nearby Greenleaf Street and Cullen Street. Riverside said it also plans to restore a further five empty properties in the neighbourhood later this year.

Ian Gregg, Chief Property Officer at Riverside, said: “We are delighted to be working with Liverpool City Council to bring these much-needed homes back into use. These essential works will make an important contribution to reducing the city’s social housing waiting list. We will be providing safe, high-quality homes for families and helping to bring a renewed sense of optimism and stability to the local area.”

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene at Liverpool City Council, said: “It has been a pleasure to work in partnership with Riverside on this project and I am delighted to see more homes being made available for those in need of social housing. These vital renovations form just one part of the wider programme of improvements that we are carrying out to revitalise the local area. It has also been fantastic to work closely with Riverside in recent months to install new CCTV cameras and I look forward to continuing this successful partnership in the years ahead.”