Thousands of Greenwich council homes are set to be upgraded with work including new roofs, boilers, as well as revamped kitchens and bathrooms.

Work will start this summer on flats and houses with one major aim being to cut energy bills by better insulating properties.

Residents of Woolwich’s Barnfield Estate will be some of the first to see improvements including upgraded lifts, new water tanks and emergency lighting from August.

Secretary of residents group Friends of Barnfield, Jean Peters, said: "These plans are great news. Some of the estate dates back to 1953 and 1955, and then 1960s and 1970s, and most of it needs a major overhaul."

She went on to say tenants wished to be kept in contact and asked about their individual requirements.

It comes under the new council-funded Greenwich Homes Standard for planning major improvements and follows on from the Decent Homes scheme rolled out to 22,000 homes between 2005 and 2011.

Greenwich Council cabinet member for housing Councillor Chris Kirby said: “The new Greenwich Homes Standard is aimed at bringing residents’ homes up to the highest modern day standards.

“It builds on the success of the Decent Homes programme, but goes further in the way it prioritises improvement works which means all necessary works are carried out at the same time.

“This will help improve the standard of our housing and the quality of life for tenants. It will also mean valuable savings in energy bills, at a time when electricity and gas costs have never been higher.”

The scheme will be backed by the government’s Energy Company Obligation programme.