Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

The future of Council housing in Charnwood is under the spotlight again as the Council begins a second round of consultation with over 6,000 tenants and leaseholders about the future ownership and management of local authority housing in the Borough.

Richard Graves, the Council Officer leading the consultation said, “A tenant survey carried out in the first round of consultation last October confirmed that new windows and modern kitchen facilities are high priorities. The people we talked to also said a good quality responsive maintenance service, dealing firmly with anti-social behaviour and the development of more affordable housing for future generations were issues we should consider”

Charnwood along with all other local housing authorities in the country is carrying out an appraisal of its resources and its ability to comply with the Government’s demand that all local authority homes should meet the so-called Decent Homes Standard by 2010.

By July this year the Council will decide whether resources are available to meet the Decent Homes Standard or whether it is necessary to look at other options like transferring council housing to a Housing Association or setting up another agency to attract investment.

Cllr. Betty Newton, the Cabinet Lead Member for Housing said, “Nearly a thousand tenants spoke up in the first part of this consultation… which is really important to the validity of the process.”

Over the next two weeks every tenant will receive information from both the Council and from TPAS, an independent agency appointed by the Association of Charnwood Tenants to ensure that tenants receive objective and impartial advice throughout the debate about the future of Council housing in the Borough.