TENANTS of council-owned housing in South Lakeland are set to benefit from a £21 million government grant for major home improvements over the next five years the biggest single cash injection the district council has ever seen.

New kitchens, bathrooms, front doors, central heating, double glazing and re-wiring will be undertaken where necessary in many of the 3,500 houses currently under the wing of South Lakes Housing, an arms-length, not-for-profit organisation set up in April 2004 to manage the council stock.

The grant will ensure all houses meet the Government's national Decent Homes Standard before the 2010 deadline.

The announcement meant celebrations for staff at South Lakes Housing who had to achieve a two star rating in a government audit last month for the cash to be released.

It also safeguarded the jobs of the organisation's 140 staff.

Funding will be awarded in two sections - £4.2 million by March 2006 and the remaining £16.8 million within the next five years once further improvements to the service are made.

While some work has already been carried out to the most pressing homes, the additional £21 million will be used to bring all South Lakes housing into the 21st century, Peter Thomas, chief executive of the organisation, said.

"We are absolutely over the moon to have achieved the two star plus rating. It's been incredibly hard work for all the staff - the performance of South Lakes Housing was critical to whether we would secure the grant - but we have achieved what we set out to do."

He added: "We are also pleased the inspectors recognise we still have promising prospects for improvement in the future.

"The grant is great news for the tenants, of course, but also for the local economy as we will have an army of local workers to carry it out."

The team of inspectors praised the well-trained and friendly staff, levels of customer care and the involvement of tenants in all aspects of the business four of which sit on the South Lakes Housing board.

High Tenterfell resident Joan Chadwick, tenants' spokeswoman, said the cash will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of residents.

"People will get new kitchens, bathrooms and improvements that will really have an impact. It's been a long process from opting to go for an arms-length organisation to actually getting it set up, but the result for the tenants is already worth it."

Mike Jones, chief executive of South Lakeland District Council, said: "This is absolutely excellent news for everyone for the council as a landlord as well as the tenants who will benefit from improvements which are long overdue.

"Every credit must go to the staff at South Lakes Housing for what they have achieved in a relatively short space of time."