The Housing Executive has invested £7.40 million on planned maintenance across homes in the Ards and North Down Borough.

During 2022/2023, the Housing Executive invested a further £4.94m on response maintenance in homes within the Ards and North Down Borough. In total, the Housing Executive spent £218 million on improving and maintaining homes across Northern Ireland last year.

At a meeting with councillors from Ards and North Down Borough Council, Housing Executive Chief Executive, Grainia Long presented the annual Housing Investment Plan (HIP). The HIP details the Housing Executive's performance during the previous year and outlines programmes and plans for the year ahead.

The most vulnerable in our communities were supported with £6.01m through the Supporting People programme, this investment funded 76 services provided by partner organisations across the borough and provided housing support to 1,490 people last year.

As well as this, across the district, 898 people who presented as homeless were accepted for support last year.

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Local communities received more than £57,000 of funding through community grants, community safety and community cohesion programmes.

Last year, £13.30m was invested in new-build homes across the district with 162 housing association units on-site at March 2023, and 16 housing completions for the year. However, despite this investment the Housing Executive recognises the gap between housing demand and supply, and will continue to partner with councils and the housing sector to find solutions.

Last year, the Housing Executive invested £1.30m on energy efficiency improvement measures across its homes with plans to sustain this investment during 2023/24. This investment will see improvements in the energy performance of over 1,000 homes across NI.

In a statement, Ms Long said:

"In addition to investing in homes and communities in 2022/23, we are also pleased to have been able to support the economic future of Ards and North Down Borough with a steady, positive impact on employment and local supply chains.

"Looking ahead to next year there is no doubt that we will continue to face challenges however we remain fully committed to the objectives set out in our Housing Investment Plan 2023 -26.

"We will continue to work with our partners to increase social housing supply, help to address the impact of climate change, invest in our local economy, deliver innovative housing solutions and involve our customers to ensure they are at the heart of service improvements in our business delivery model.

"Delivery of our housing objectives is key to the social, economic and environmental benefits of Ards and North Down Borough.

"I am grateful for the partnerships we have built with the local council and look forward to working together further as we deliver against our shared goal of providing better places to live for the people and communities we serve."