HUNDREDS of council houses in the Groves in York have had a facelift costing close to a £1 million.

City of York Council has invested more than £960,000 in the houses since January as part of its York Pride initiative.

Pensioner John Lee, 78, who has lived in a ground-floor flat in Thirsk House with his wife Barbara, 74, for 11 years, said the work that had been done was "fantastic".

"We've had pretty much brand new everything - bathroom, kitchen, windows. They've done a grand job and it's about time," he said.

Some of Mr Lee's paintings have been used to decorate some of the communal areas inside the flats.

Councillor Sue Sunderland, the council's executive member for housing, said she hoped tenants were pleased with the work that had been done.

She said: "We are taking a more holistic approach to the work, so when the council is going into areas to complete the painting cycle, we will be doing other improvements as part of the York Pride and Safe City approach, thus creating more sustainable and safer communities.

"Tenants themselves have helped to establish the priorities for these upgrades."

Steve Lawson, project surveyor, is responsible for ensuring this work is completed to a satisfactory standard.

He said: "This programme of improvements was all about making The Groves a more pleasant place for its residents to live in and has had a really positive impact on the area."

The money has been spent on:

Fitting new upvc double glazed windows in 206 homes at a cost of £260,000

Applying insulating rendering to 30 homes at a cost of £150,000

Adding new fire resistant doors to 213 homes at a cost of £131,000

Fitting new floor coverings to landings and staircases in 232 homes at a cost of £70,000 and improving lighting to the communal staircases at a cost of £75,000

Fitting 14 new communal security doors, incorporating electronic keyless entry systems, and renewed three more door entry systems, again incorporating the electronic keyless entry systems, at a cost of £63,000.

Removing and replacing approximately 900 square metres of broken concrete and paving at a cost of £30,000.

Re-roofing around 80 garages and sheds at a cost of £11,000

Painting and repairing the whole estate at a cost of £170,000.

Updated: 12:02 Wednesday, October 26, 2005