ELDERLY Shelley residents have breathed a sigh of relief after it was revealed their homes will be saved.

Residents living in six bungalows at Westerley Close have been told their one-bedroom council homes will not be sold off.

Instead they will be refurbished to bring them up to the Government's Decent Homes Standard.

The homes were under review by Kirklees Council because they did not meet this standard.

Options included refurbishing the homes and selling them to private landlords, housing associations or developers.

Neil Machin, 60, who lives in Westerley Close, has been following the progress of the review closely, chasing up the results of a string of council meetings and constantly corresponding with officers.

Mr Machin said he had received confusing reports - one minute being told a decision had been made, the next hearing it was being referred to another committee.

He said it had been a difficult wait to find out what was going to happen.

Now he and other residents are waiting for council staff to contact them to find out exactly what work needs doing to their homes.

He said: "We are relieved to know they are going to stay. But we still really don't know exactly what is going to happen and when. So it is frustrating but better.

"We haven't been able to get any sense out of them until now."

Andy Selman, business support manager for Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing, confirmed that the bungalows would be refurbished.

He said staff would be in touch with the residents to talk directly to them about the work that needs doing in their individual homes.

He said: "I do realise the process is stressful, particularly for older people who have lived in a community for some time, but we have to make informed and balanced decisions about investing money into houses and flats to ensure people want to live there in the long term."

Related stories and messageboards