THE Speke office of construction group Bramall North West has won its first major refurbishment contract in Wales.

It has signed a £1.4m contract to improve homes across Denbighshire with new kitchens and bathrooms, providing six new jobs and work for two Merseyside- based sub-contractors.

Denbighshire County Council awarded the tender to the firm, which also operates out of Salford, in September, as part of its latest programme of work to bring 3,470 council houses up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

The programme is now in its third year and 1,132 homes have been refurbished so far.

Bramall’s £1.4m contract is part of the latest £10m phase of improvement works scheduled to take place over the next two years.

The construction firm will carry out improvement work to 227 properties in the Denbigh Close and Maes Emlyn areas of Rhyl.

Construction director for the company, Steve Parrington, said: “This is an exciting breakthrough for us.

“It means Bramall has moved into the Welsh social housing refurbishment market in a big way.

“We’ve done some work in Wales before, but nothing on this scale. We hope this initial contract with Denbighshire will be the first of many.

“There will be other opportunities to secure work between now and 2012 when the council aims to complete its programme to bring its properties up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

“It’s now a case of showing Denbighshire what Bramall can do. We are keen to demonstrate the quality of our work and the service we can provide.”

The contract started this month, with the first phase expected to be finished by May next year.

Mr Parrington said: “Open days and choice events have been held for tenants, and initial reaction to the plans has been enthusiastic.

“We hope this is the beginning of something really significant for Bramall as we move into new geographical areas like Wales.

“The plan to bring homes up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, as well as a number of planned housing stock transfers, means there are going to be lots of opportunities coming up in Wales in the next few years. It’s an area with great potential.”

He said: “We want to be part of that, so it’s going to be a case of spreading the word about our proven track record in England.

“We’ve got the specialist skills and the expertise to help social housing providers meet their refurbishment objectives.”