[20
JUL 00] COVENTRY CITY COUNCIL NEWS
Date Set For Coventry Housing Transfer
Coventry’s
entire stock of council houses is to be transferred to a private
company in September.
The
change, which has been planned for three years, will see all
20,500 homes being handed over to a new company called
Whitefriars.
The
new company will take on nearly all the council staff connected
with housing and be responsible for maintaining, improving and
managing the buildings.
Councillors
decided three years ago that they need a radical solution to the
problem of the city’s crumbling council houses.
Along
with other local authorities they decided that a transfer to a
private company would allow investment to bring the properties
up to scratch.
The
houses will be transferred on 18 September. Work will start
almost immediately on installing uPVC windows in 3,000 homes.
But
tenants who want double-glazing will be asked to pay an extra £1.49
a week in their rent.
Cllr
Peter Lacy (Labour, Sherbourne), who is the chairman of the new
Whitefriars Housing Group, said Whitefriars will pay £50
million for the houses.
This
money will go straight to the Treasury as £150 million is owed
by the city council to the Government for the building of the
houses.
The
remainder of the money owed, called “over-hanging debt”,
will be written off by the government to allow the transfer to
take place.
Cllr
Lacy said:
“It
means the city council does not have the debt any more and
Whitefriars can start with a clean sheet.
“There
is a backlog of £250 million of repairs to be done.
Whitefriars will pay for this by increasing the rent by
inflation plus one per cent. They are limited to this.
“This
is a better deal for tenants as last year the rent went up by
inflation plus two per cent, but effectively got nothing extra
for that.”
Work
replacing bathrooms and kitchens is also planned.
Coventry
City Council will remain in charge of housing strategy, the
waiting list and homeless people.
Existing
housing offices will continue to operate under the Whitefriars
banner, and central staff will continue to work in Spire House
for around 12 months before moving to new offices.
Whitefriars’
board will be made up of six councillors, six tenants’
representatives and six independent people. None of the board
members will be paid for their work.
All
the council’s tenants were invited to vote on whether the
transfer should take place. Following a heated campaign 58 per
cent of those eligible cast their vote.
Of
these 55 per cent voted for the transfer and 45 per cent voted
against.
Socialist
councillor Rob Windsor (St Michael’s) said there were still
concerns about the long-term future of the council housing.
He
said campaigners against the transfer feared that Whitefriars’
debt repayments would cause a squeeze on repairs, staff pay and
conditions and could lead to rent rises.
He
said:
“At
first it will seems all sweetness and light because they will
have a lot of money for repairs. We are more concerned about
the long-term.”
Cllr
Windsor said the money used for over-hanging debt by the
government should have been channelled directly into housing.
And
he is urging tenants to take an active interest in the way
Whitefriars is run.
Cllr
Windsor said:
“We
are concerned that the tenants’ representatives will come
under huge pressure from the banks over the repayment of the
money owed.
"But
if the tenants’ groups are strong and well-attended it will
help them resist this pressure from the ground upwards.”
|
