A HOME for senior citizens is to get £6,000 to improve conditions for residents.

Councillors at a Canvey West neighbourhood meeting chose to award the money to Amelia Blackwell House, in Link Road, Canvey. It came after neighbouring sheltered accommodation Sweetbriar Lodge, also in Link Road, was successfully renovated.

The money will be used to carry out much-needed repairs in the home’s communal area, including reupholstering chairs that are falling apart and repainting the lounge, as well as installing a greenhouse and making improvements to the communal garden.

Neville Watson, chairman of the committee, said: “These homes are in such a poor standard, they have not had much investment in years. We want the residents to feel like the council is not just there to empty their bins but to help them in other ways. We want them to know they are not forgotten.”

Amelia Blackwell House is one of eight sheltered housing accommodations run by Castle Point Council which came under scrutiny last year in a damning report by the authority’s overview and scrutiny committee.

The report highlighted a series of faults with the homes including inadequate washing facilities, poor disabled access and substandard maintenance.

The neighbourhood committee is hoping to carry out repairs to all the sheltered housing facilities in the area over the next few years.

Peter May, councillor for Canvey West, said: “The conditions at Sweetbriar Lodge were embarrassing before the renovation, and residents felt for a long time they were being ignored. But this money can really change their lives.”

Janice Fudge, sheltered housing officer at Amelia Blackwell House, said: “Residents are really pleased to be receiving this money for improvements to the communal areas.

“There is a great atmosphere here and the garden area or lounge is used on a daily basis for social activities.

“Over the summer some residents have put their own money into improving the garden and this extra money means we can finish the fish pond and put up some decent fencing.”

The neighbourhood committee has £10,400 to spend before the end of this financial year.