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Gateshead Council has extended its home repairs and maintenance contract with Mears for a further two years.The extended contract was agreed in partnership with The Gateshead Housing Company and commenced from 1 April and will manage £14m of work to the council’s housing stock each year.The extension was awarded to reflect the improvements that Mears have made over the past three years with 98% of tenants satisfied with the delivery of repairs and maintenance to the 20,000 Council homes in Gateshead.Mears will be supported by Gateshead Council’s directly employed Construction Services, as they begin work on vacant properties located in the East and Central areas of the borough to get them back into use. Construction Services will also continue providing responsive works to external property boundaries and flats roofs.Peter Udall, Service Director of Council Housing and Design for Gateshead Council, said “Mears has provided an excellent service to our tenants and leaseholders throughout the previous contract, so I’m very pleased to announce this extension. Being able to continue to use Gateshead Council’s existing workers to deliver some of this work is very important to us, as we are committed to retaining as much skills and experience as we can whilst we go through a very difficult period for local authority services.”Colin Middlemass, Chief Operating Officer for Mears said “We have built a very strong relationship with the Gateshead Council and The Gateshead Housing Company and also with the tenants we serve. I’m delighted to be able to continue our collaborative partnership which has delivered the best standard of council owned housing the borough has ever had before.”Jon Mallen-Beadle, Managing Director of The Gateshead Housing Company, said “We welcome this decision to extend the existing successful arrangements for a further two years and look forward to working together with Mears and Construction Services for the benefit of all of our customers.”