Residents in East Renfrewshire have praised a new £500,000 housing project.

The project aims to address the issue of eyesore properties.

The mixed tenure improvement scheme targets blocks that have mixed ownership, that is, council tenants, owner occupiers and private lets, and since its launch earlier this year, hundreds of properties have been renovated.

In Kerr Street, Barrhead, the work led to one block of flats working together to buy communal garden furniture, plants and a barbecue. They made the decision to do so after the local authority's improvement team cleared the overgrown and run-down garden and clear and clean the close.

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Convener for housing, Councillor Danny Devlin, said: "We want East Renfrewshire to be somewhere that is safe for everyone and an attractive place for people to live in.

"A community that works together in this way can only be a huge positive. I have seen the mixed tenancy scheme in action and have been impressed with the pride people are taking in maintaining their properties once the council has been in to clean and clear."

Since its launch, the mixed tenure improvement scheme has seen work carried out within more than 260 closes and more than 160 shared gardens cleared. There are also one-off works such as fence repair, tree felling and bin removal lined up for more than 120 properties.

(JP/IT)