TAXPAYERS have saved tens of thousands of pounds every month since Colchester Borough Homes has taken over the maintenance of council houses.

Bills for relettings, gas services and repairs fell since the company took over maintenance of the town’s council houses from Inspace Partnerships.

Colchester Council and Inspace agreed to end the contract last year when it became clear there was not enough money to get about 1,000 of the 6,000 council homes up to the Government’s Decent Homes standard.

Figures show the cost of getting a house ready for a new tenant after the previous one leaves cost on average £2,998 between April and June last year, before the contract ended.

This was reduced to £1,035 between January and March this year.

The average cost of a gas service has also gone down from £75 to £52, while the cost of general repairs has fallen from £99 to £67.

No exact figures are available, but between 30 and 40 council homes are normally relet each month, equating to a saving of about £60,000 a month.

Daniel Allen, Colchester Borough Homes’s director of property services, said: “We have worked hard to reduce costs, to provide a service which is better value for money.

“Our surveys show the repairs service has high satisfaction ratings. We will continue to look for new ways to improve our performance.”

Colchester Borough Homes was set up by Colchester Council in 2003. It is owned by the council and its board is made up of tenants, councillors and independent members.

Paul Smith, Colchester councillor responsible for financing Colchester Borough Homes, declined to comment on Inspace.

He said: “I’m delighted that Colchester Borough Homes is making such excellent savings.”

Mark Gelder, Inspace Partnership’s director of operations, declined to comment.

There is no suggestion Inspace was responsible for Decent Homes work not being completed within budget, or that any work was below par.