IN reply to Ms Marlene Disley's comments (Letters, April 24) on Burnley Council's proposal to consult tenants regarding a potential transfer of council housing to a new council-and-tenant-created landlord, the reason it is considering the sale of its housing is because it is the only way that the £40 million needed to carry out essential repairs and improvements can be found.

The council's spending has reduced for many years, and we are now only able to spend a quarter of what was spent four years ago. We have no finance even to carry out preventative repairs to our housing.

If the properties remain council-owned, at current levels of spending, it will be more than 60 years before the money we need for repairs and modernisations today will be found.

Of course tenants will be concerned about the proposal, but rejection of it will only lead to fewer repairs and modernisations. The council proposes to set up a non-profitmaking landlord, comprising a local housing company which will be controlled by tenants and councillors.

Representatives from tenants groups will take part in choosing the new landlord, who will be able to borrow the £40 million that is needed. That means £18 million on catching up repairs and £22 million on modernisations. This will make a significant impact on all our estates and will include double glazing, central heating, modern kitchens, etc.

The new landlord will also give existing tenants a five-year rent guarantee which spells out what the next five years' rent increases will be - for example, one per cent over inflation each year. The new landlord's general approach to rents will be to restrict rent rises for existing tenants to inflation plus one per cent for the entire 30 years of its finance and business plan.

This is a far better guarantee on rent increases than the council can give. It is having to increase rents for a reducing service.

This is not the case for the new landlord. This is purely because of the Government's controls on public spending, and spending on housing affects councils but does not affect the new landlord.

At the end of the day, all tenants will be allowed to vote on whether to become a tenant of the new landlord. The majority of views of tenants will then decide. We expect the vote to take place around April next year, before which there will be extensive consultation with tenants, who will be given all the information so that they can make an informed choice.

I know that the concerns of tenants on rents, repairs and service delivery can be overcome. Above all, though, we cannot afford to allow the fear of change and cynicism to block a proposal that will bring millions of pounds in much-needed repairs and improvements to all of our council homes.

IAN SAVILLE, Director of Community Services, Burnley Council.

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