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Double Celebration for Knottingley Twins

Knottingley twins Nora McCann and Margaret Gerrard are celebrating together after becoming the latest residents to have their homes transformed by social housing contractor Keepmoat.

The twins, who live on Aire Walk, have both had their homes fully refurbished as part of the Decent Homes programme, a major Government initiative to bring all council homes up to a decent standard, on behalf of Wakefield and District Housing (WDH).

And this is not the first time the 71 year olds have shared a celebration - they had a double wedding in their home town of Pontefract in 1965.

Work on the twins' homes has included new kitchens, bathrooms, rewiring and central heating. Although they are identical, Nora and Margaret have chosen different design options for their new fittings.

To minimise disruption for the twins, who have seven grandchildren between them, Keepmoat programmed the work on their properties so that they could move in with each other while work was being undertaken on the other's home.

Margaret said: "I'm really happy with the work that's been done to my home, it's like a different house! The kitchen and bathroom are excellent, so much more modern, and the new windows and central heating mean that the whole house is much warmer."

Nora added: "It's not been easy with all the upheaval over the past three months, but the work definitely needed doing and it will all have been worth it in the end."

Keepmoat, Bullock, Mears and NPS are working with WDH to bring Wakefield's social housing stock up to the 'Wakefield Standard', which excels the government's national standard, by 2012.

Improvements include new windows, doors, kitchens and bathrooms, complete re-wires, rendering, new central heating systems and the replacement of old gas fires and boilers.