COUNCIL tenants in the Portico area have given a massive thumbs up to having their homes demolished to pave the way for improvements in their area.

A total of 61 out of 81 tenants surveyed voted yes to the scheme. Ten voted against and 10 said they were unsure and wanted more details.

A total of 96 pre-war properties are affected - 10 of which are currently empty. The majority of tenants surveyed indicated they would like to locate into more popular neighbouring areas and saw the scheme as their opportunity to achieve this.

There are around 250 houses on the estate and many have been or are about to be modernised. However, the 96 properties which sit on the edge of the estate are harder to let, as demand for them is very low.

In the past year demand has fallen dramatically and there are only seven applicants on the waiting list requesting the estate as their first choice of area.

The average turnover rate for empty houses across the Borough is 9.97 per cent while in Portico the figure is 22 per cent rising to 30 per cent on the edge of the estate.

The Council says that once demolition has taken place the site will be marketed for housing use which will be a major economic and environmental boost to the neighbourhood.