A TOWN centre housing estate in Radcliffe that has undergone a multi-million pound transformation has been officially re-opened.

A total of 90 social housing properties on St Thomas Estate have been provided with new external rendering, roofing, windows, doors, insulation and brick cladding.

It was reported in 2014 that tenants on the Sixtown Housing-managed estate had lodged a series of complaints over damp, mouldy conditions, rotting bricks and leaking roofs.

After some residents on the estate, who were visited by Bury South MP Ivan Lewis, called for the properties to be “condemned”, the Council agreed to invest £2 million to bring the homes up to standard.

The Mayor of Bury, Cllr Mike Connolly, cut the ribbon to symbolise the programme’s completion at an event arranged by Six Town Housing and contractor A Connolly Ltd to say thank you to residents for their patience while the works were carried out.

Cllr Connolly said: “I took great pleasure in officially reopening St Thomas Estate following the programme of work. Walking around, it feels like it has been reinvigorated and re-energised.”

Refreshments were provided for attending residents from the estate, along with a DIY workshop and free games, face painting and balloon modelling for local children.

Diane Cooke, one of the tenants from the estate who attended the re-opening ceremony with her granddaughter Rosie, aged two, said: “It’s a vast improvement, I’m pleased with the work and it looks really nice.

“The new windows and doors also mean my home is a lot warmer.

“I enjoyed the re-opening event run by Six Town Housing this week, it seemed popular with the kids when they came back from school.”

Cllr Rishi Shori, leader of the council, added: “It’s great to see the result of our £2 million investment in housing at St Thomas estate, as we work to improve the quality of our housing stock across the borough.

“It has transformed an area in a state of disrepair into what resembles a brand new housing estate.”

As a result of the investment, the work on the estate was shortlisted for Best Regeneration Scheme at the Housing Excellence Awards 2016.

The redevelopment project also attracted a visit from Swedish housing company Riksbyggen in March this year, who wanted to find out more about the scheme to see if it could influence similar projects in Scandinavia.