Harlow Council is celebrating the completion of nearly 5,500 housing repairs since last June.

The council announced it was on course to clear its housing repairs backlog by the end of March, as they had "14 tasks remaining", according to the local authority.

Since June 2023, the council has completed 5,467 repair jobs from an initial backlog of 5,481.

All outstanding repairs from 2022 have also been cleared.

David Carter, councillor responsible for housing, said: “It is a huge achievement by all.

“Changing working practices and bringing the standard repair time down from nine months to 60 days has really paid off.

"My thanks go to everyone involved in this enormous project to fix council housing.

“It’s taken a great deal of effort, but I know that with the council and HTS continuing to work together we can keep on top of keeping our homes up to standard.”

Alongside these developments, the council has introduced more measures to improve council housing.

The strategies include an audit programme visiting tenants' properties, a complete stock condition survey to enhance maintenance, and the revision of council housing allocation system.

Last month, the cabinet agreed on a new allocation policy that prioritises local families for local council homes.

Epping Forest Guardian has contacted to the council for confirmation of all repairs being completed.