Housing associations across the Liverpool City Region are continuing to invest in existing homes at scale, strengthening communities, improving living standards and creating long-term social value for residents.
Cobalt Housing has announced £50m worth of planned maintenance and investment contracts, marking a significant long-term commitment to improving homes across its communities.
The four-year programme will deliver a wide range of improvement works, including:
- Kitchen and bathroom renewals
- Window and door replacements
- Roof and structural repairs
- Electrical rewires
- External improvement works
Investing in existing homes
As housing demand continues to rise across the Liverpool City Region, housing associations are balancing the need to build new homes with the equally important responsibility of investing in existing housing stock.
Programmes like this help ensure homes remain:
- Safe and compliant
- Energy efficient
- High quality and fit for the future
- Responsive to residents’ needs
The scale of investment also highlights the important role housing associations play in supporting local economies and sustaining long-term community resilience.
Putting residents at the centre
A key feature of the procurement process was the focus on customer experience and resident voice.
Cobalt embedded customer insight throughout the process, drawing on:
- Resident feedback and satisfaction data
- Complaints analysis
- Community engagement activity
Residents were also directly involved in evaluating bids alongside colleagues, with customer experience heavily weighted within the assessment process.
This reflects a growing sector-wide focus on ensuring residents shape the services and investment decisions that affect their homes and communities.
Social value
The programme also demonstrates how housing investment can deliver wider social and economic benefits.
Alongside improving homes, the £50m framework includes measurable commitments around:
- Employment opportunities
- Apprenticeships and skills
- Community engagement
- Training for local people
The programme is expected to support around 100 jobs and up to 15 apprenticeships, creating opportunities for people entering the construction and housing sectors.
This aligns with wider ambitions across the Liverpool City Region to use housing investment as a driver for inclusive growth, local employment and skills development.
A collective commitment to better homes
For LCRHA and our collective of 23 housing associations, programmes like this demonstrate the wider impact of sustained investment in existing homes.
By working with partners, listening to residents and embedding social value into delivery, the sector is improving homes and neighbourhoods and supporting local jobs and apprenticeships.
