HOMES at a Keighley retirement living complex are undergoing a major refurbishment.

Work began last year on renovating 26 empty flats and studios at Farish House, in South Street.

Improvements include new kitchens and bathrooms in some of the properties, showers in all the studio flats and full redecoration.

The refurbishment of five apartments is now complete, and work on the remaining 21 is scheduled for completion in late spring.

Farish House – a sheltered accommodation complex for people aged 65 and over – is owned by social housing landlord Incommunities, which says the scheme is part of a wider programme of investment in its homes.

Renovation work is currently underway at several of its retirement living complexes and blocks of flats across the Bradford district.

New lifts have been installed at Ailsa House and Waryn House, both in Thorpe Edge, and Ruth House, Bradford.

Properties at Earlswood Gardens, Wyke; Ivy Bank Court and Green Bank Court, Shipley, and Forester Court in Denholme have been fitted with new boilers and/or central heating systems.

And new roofs have been installed at Fairfax House in Bradford and Wellesley House, Laisterdyke.

The latest other retirement housing complex to undergo work is Maple Court, Bingley, where a new lift, flooring and communal kitchen are being provided and redecoration carried out.

Graeme Scott, executive director of development and assets at Incommunities, says: "There are 55 separate homes within Farish House, and 26 of these have been sitting empty as they were not fit for purpose. This refurbishment work will bring these much- needed properties back into use.

"There has been a lot of major work going on in many of our buildings throughout the past 12 months, but there’s lots more work still to do.

"We are committed to investing in all our homes and communities, which is why we are about to start an independent review of the condition of all the properties that we provide. This will allow us to proactively plan maintenance and investment across all our 22,000 homes.

"Whilst the review is ongoing, we will continue to carry out the necessary major work on our customers’ homes, in addition to day-to-day repairs and maintenance."

Farish House residents to welcome the scheme include Sylvia Thompson, who has lived there for four years.

She says: "What Incommunities has done has changed things a lot for us. The investment in our homes offers us security."