Council houses are to get a £3.5m boost for improvements.

The annual housing budget, agreed by Oxford City Council, includes £495,000 to modernise unfit properties in Littlemore.

Central heating is to be fitted in 350 council houses across the city and 50 homes will have their heating modernised.

Cash has also been set aside for new security systems at houses and flats in Barton, Blackbird Leys, Rose Hill, Wood Farm.

And more than £270,000 will be spent on re-roofing and re-wiring the Plowman Tower flats at Northway, Headington, and Foresters Tower flats at Wood Farm.

Labour councillors on the city council said the budget would be a major boost for council tenants.

But opposition members criticised the decision to give it the go-ahead before managers had completed a survey of the council's housing stock.

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Corinna Redman said: "It means we cannot guarantee value for money in this budget.

"The officers have been slow to compile this report so it's difficult for us to know if it is the best way to spend this money."

Story date: Monday 05 April

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