Spending of more than £50 million is to be invested in updating housing in one part of Nottinghamshire.
Broxtowe Borough Council revealed the investment as it gathered on Wednesday (March 4) for a full council meeting to pass its budget for the 2026/27 financial year.
The meeting also looked at giving a projection of funds over the next three years.
Members approved a 2.94 per cent increase in council tax for 2026/27, a 4.8 per cent rise in council rents and the withdrawal of funds from its general reserves to help maintain a balanced budget.
But the authority is also set to provide a “significant investment” into its housing stock – totalling more than £53 million.
The council currently has around 4,500 properties in its stock.
Over the next three financial years, Broxtowe Borough Council will spend around £39.8 million on updating and fixing its current housing stock.
This includes £157,000 on bathroom replacements, £7.875 million on kitchen replacements, £2.67 million on boiler replacements, £6.2 million on fire safety assessments and works, and £450,000 on damp proofing.
On top of that, it is expecting to spend around £13.58 million on new council homes, including £4.4 million for buying new properties, £5.338 million on the land at Bramcote Crematorium being used for new housing, and £1.9 million for new homes in Church Street.
The authority’s housing image did not get off to a good start in 2026, after a watchdog found “serious failings” in the management of Broxtowe’s housing stock.
The council was given a C3 rating by The Regulator of Social Housing in January – the second-worst rating a provider can receive – after it failed to meet a series of consumer standards, which were introduced in April 2024.
This included more than 3,000 overdue repairs and upgrades relating to fire safety and a lack of accurate and up-to-date information on tenants’ homes, including potential hazards.
Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting, Councillor Peter Bales (Lab) said: “Our residents are living with the real consequence of long-term underfunding in both repairs and staff to deliver them.
“The rent increase proposed tonight [4.8 per cent] will only be defensible if it genuinely enables us to bring homes up to a standard any of us would accept for ourselves.”
On the council’s damning housing rating, Cllr Bales said: “Tenants living with mould, damp, health risks and unacceptable delays to essential repairs.
“When the inspectors tell us we’re not meeting the diverse needs of residents, we should listen.
“Sending digital-only invitations to engagement events inevitably excludes large sections of our community – the [tenant] satisfaction survey results must therefore be treated with caution.”
Cllr Vanessa Smith (Brox Alliance), portfolio holder for housing at the council, gave her “assurance” the social rent increase for council tenants will be used to make improvements to the housing stock.
She continued: “[The budget] has allowed for a significant investment in our housing stock… which will help us to work on the issues we’re facing following the regulatory report.
“There were some positives in that report, particularly around repairs… we’ve made significant improvements to our repairs service and that was highlighted in the report.”
Cllr Smith said the 3,000 ‘actions’ for the homes have reduced by 500 since the last update to the authority’s cabinet and “continues to fall”.
Part of the housing investments will be funded through the council’s right-to-buy receipts, developer financial contributions, and other grants.
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