Services provided to Kirklees' 28,000 council tenants were today given a two-star rating by the Housing Inspectorate.

The highest accolade is three stars and the Council's Cabinet member for Housing, Councillor Graham Simpson said it would mean £62.5million extra being spent over the next two years to bring homes up to modern standards - with the propsect of another £80million available later.

"It will mean investment in transforming the condition of our council houses on a scale never seen before," he said.

Cliff Whiteley, chairman of Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing, the partnership which now manages council homes, said: "We can now move forward and get on with the job of raising housing standards across Kirklees."

The Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing partnership came into operation on April 1. Its board has five tenants, five councillors, and five independent members with a housing expertise or interest.