A NEAR-£10m scheme to make the exterior of three blocks of Oldbury flats fire-resistant in the wake of the Grenfell disaster has been completed.

Housing regeneration firm Lovell has finished its £9.7 million improvement scheme at the Lion Farm Estate in Oldbury.

The internal and external modernisation of the three tower blocks - Hackwood House, Wallace House and Harry Price House - began in September 2017.

It was the first tower block to be re-cladded after the fire that killed 71 people at the Grenfell high-rise flats in London, where cladding was later found to have failed to meet safety standards.

At Lion Farm, Lovell have fitted insulation, render and fire-resistant cladding to the exterior of the 1960s-built properties, and added new windows, balcony doors, entrance canopies and a new pitched roof.

Internally, additional fire prevention measures were provided to communal areas along with new flooring, redecoration, new lifts and foyer entrance doors.

Lovell regional refurbishment director Carl Yale said: “Our team are proud to have completed the refurbishment works at Lion Farm.

"The transformation is fantastic and we are so pleased to hear extremely positive feedback from residents.

“This project has delivered immense benefits for residents’ quality of life, resulting in homes which are more modern, attractive and warmer to live in and cheaper to run.”

Councillor Joanne Hadley, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for homes, said: “I am really impressed with how the refurbishment has transformed these three previously tired-looking blocks, housing hundreds of our tenants into these amazing, modern-looking homes.

"It will really lift morale and impacts on the whole neighbourhood, it’s a real success story.”

As part of the refurbishment scheme, Lovell worked with a number of grassroots organisations in the area to ensure the benefits were extended to the wider community.

By employing local labour wherever possible, expenditure on the refurbishment project has been reinvested in the local economy.

Lovell calculates that for every £1 from the gross project income, an additional £2.31 has been returned to the area.