THURROCK Vouncil's planning committee has voted unanimously to update prefabricated homes built after the Second World War.

After approving an application to itself, made earlier this year, the authority will insulate and provide new windows for 20 Airey houses in Ridgewell Avenue, Orsett.

Mears Group Ltd, ECD Architects, Michael Dyson & Associates and Keegans Group have been appointed to "retrofit the council owned properties made with non-traditional construction methods".

Airey houses were designed for swift construction following the Second World War. A total of 26,000 Airey houses were built between 1945 and 1955 by Sir Edwin Airey who was a Leeds based builder.

The precast homes were covered with shiplap concrete panels but many are now blighted by deterioration of the concrete and erosion of embedded steel supports.

The work will include adding external wall insulation, loft insulation and replacing external windows or doors. The works aims to "improve the energy efficient performance of the homes and as a result reduce the energy bills".

At a planning meeting last week, Steve Taylor, a co-opted member of the committee from the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Said: "Many of those houses were refurbished, repaired, restored in exactly the same way about 20 to 25 years ago and many of them were semi-detached.

"Half because it was privately owned was done and the local authority part wasn't so if anything it will actually bring some regularity back to the area."

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Residents will not have to move out for the work, which is part of an almost £4 million grant funded project to upgrade 206 council owned properties.

A report to planning officers by architects said: "The whole house, fabric first retrofit of the Airey council owned properties is progressive step towards the decarbonisation of the council owned housing stock contributing towards the governments overall net zero target.

"These measures not only contribute to a wider goal of decarbonisation but at an individual level also make a large positive impact by significantly reducing the predicted heat demand and thus lowering bills for residents within these homes."