Dilapidated council homes in Dudley will be given a nine-figure facelift after a major refurbishment plan was rubber-stamped.

A £136 million cash injection to rejuvenate the borough’s housing stock was agreed at a meeting of the full council.

The cash will be used to upgrade heating and install new kitchens and bathrooms at existing properties as well as embark on the first council house building programme for two decades.

A total of 89 homes will be built at six sites across the borough but at £12.2million the budget for new build homes represents less than a tenth of the overall scheme.

More than £30m will be ploughed into fitting 3,500 new bathrooms and 5,000 kitchens while £10m will be invested adapting council-owned homes for people with disabilities.

That money will fund 1,600 major adaptations over the five year project while 1,700 minor alterations will be carried out each year. Work will range from the installation of level access showers to structural changes. More than £8m has been earmarked to improve heating, with 650 boilers set to be replaced while 650 electric storage heaters will also be stripped out in favour of efficient gas heating.

A further 1,500 homes will have a modern gas fire.