WREXHAM Council have been turning empty properties around during Covid-19.
They have stated that the need for housing does not go away during a pandemic, and if anything, the need increases.
A spokesperson for the council, said: "We pride ourselves on providing excellent quality, lifetime homes for our tenants, and that is not about to stop because of these unprecedented times.
"Housing is a critical service, which means we have had to think on our feet and come up with new and innovative was of working.
"In just a short space of time, we have worked hard to ensure that we continue to offer excellent customer service to our tenants and clients in all aspects of housing, including the completion of empty property renovations to hand back to our estate offices to re-let."
For a while, they were only able to conduct emergency work on properties and these renovations had to be put on hold, as they navigated the pandemic.
As things started to change, it meant that they could unlock more of their services, including starting work on empty properties once again.
Following a series of risk assessments, they were able to plan work and bring in resources in sufficient numbers to complete the properties, ensuring social distancing was at the forefront of everything they were doing,and ensuring that they kept their staff and the public safe.
The gradual unlocking plan took a number of weeks to implement before they started to see the empty properties being completed and returned to the estate offices for re-letting.
The spokesperson, added: "We have made great progress and have managed to return 291 properties to a standard which exceeds the very comprehensive Welsh Quality Housing Standard since April 2020, and with six weeks of this time only focusing on emergency work, this is a fantastic achievement.
"We are continuing to work hard to deliver more and more properties and it’s lovely to see that the work we do is greatly appreciated by our tenants, especially during these difficult times."
Cllr David Griffiths, lead member for housing, said "Fantastic to see our housing department keeping services such as this up and running effectively, ensuring we continue to have quality housing for our tenants.
"The cooperation and hard work that the housing team have displayed during the pandemic has been exemplary.
"They have continued to work in whatever capacity they have been asked of them and adapted quickly to the new ways of working.
"Without this, they would not be able to provide the quality housing in which they do."
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