TENANTS have been promised that the future of Bury's council housing lies in their hands.

The pledge follows fears that the option to sell off local authority homes is the most likely.

Housing bosses are consulting the council's 9,000 tenants over the long-term future of the homes. Other options include setting up an arm's-length management company.

Mr Keith Rothwell told Wednesday's (Sept 11) executive that there seemed to be "an increasing number of reasons" why the council keeping its houses was not viable.

"I am in favour of retention, and I get the impression that many tenants are also in favour of that," he said.

"While it may be very easy to find reasons why retention cannot be an option in the long term, for instance if it's Government policy, then I ask the council to push to have the criteria changed so that the wishes of tenants will be paramount, rather than their wishes being considered as paramount only it fits in with this and that."

Mr Rothwell also asked if any ballot on transferring ownership would be determined by a majority of tenants, rather than in the past when abstentions were counted as "yes" votes.

Council leader John Byrne said that the law was clear; any decision rests with the tenants.

"If a majority of them want the council to retain the housing stock, that will be done," he said. "Then it will be up to the council to garner all the resources it can to make sure the housing stock is up to standard."

Coun Byrne added that more than 50 per cent of tenants would have to take part in a sell-off vote for it to be valid, and more than half of those voting would have to approve disposal.