THE final stage of a 15 year plan to update Darlington’s council housing stock is set to get underway with the refurbishment of dozens of properties in the Red Hall area of the town.

The £3m two year project to regenerate Red Hall will include the demolition of 56 properties in the Courts area of the estate, with consultation underway to find new homes for remaining residents.

Improvement works have previously taken place in council owned homes in Skerne Park, Firthmoor and Parkside, with major rebuilding and renovation schemes currently underway in Cockerton.

Darlington Borough Council said the works will provide tenants with quality housing that provides a good standard of living.

Work in Red Hall is expected to start in the coming months and will be paid for by an increase in the weekly rent paid by tenants, which was agreed by the Tenants Board.

As well as the demolition works to properties deemed too expensive to repair, the programme of improvements for the estate includes external cladding for about 200 properties, new double glazing and external doors for 150 properties and better boundary fencing.

A small number of homes will have improvements to access points and electric storage heaters will be replaced with gas central heating in 22 homes.

Public pathways and street lighting will also be improved around the estate.

A council spokeswoman said there was no set timescale for the works to take place, with the rehoming of residents in properties earmarked for demolition to be dealt with first.

Affected tenants will be given priority on housing lists at the council and housing officers will meet with each tenant to give them advice on alternative accommodation and compensation.

The spokeswoman said: “This is an exciting project that will enable the council to continue to offer good quality, energy efficient accommodation that people will want to live in and look after.

“We are working with those affected by the redevelopment to help them find suitable accommodation and to give advice where needed.

“We want to make their move to a new home as seamless and pain free as possible.”