COUNCIL tenants in Hyndburn don't seem to care whether the council or someone else owns their houses.

Only 450 people out of 5,000 tenants have attended public meetings to discuss transferring the council's housing stock to a housing association and, of these, 203 people were elderly residents in sheltered accommodation.

Other methods to test opinion, such as leaflets and a telephone hot-line, have also met with a thin response.

Housing committee members reacted by backing plans for a "tenants' friend" to offer support and independent advice before tenants vote on the sell-off.

And at the same time councillors tried to allay fears that the sell-off could cost the council millions of pounds.

In a report presented to the committee, housing chief Gwyneth Sarkar said: "Unfortunately the vast majority of tenants have chosen not to make their views known so far.

"I do not believe that enough tenants, other than tenants in sheltered accommodation, have so far attended the public meetings or made their views known in other ways to give an authoritative view on whether the majority of tenants generally are either in favour or opposed to the proposal." Council officers also found that the tenants attending the meeting wanted more information about the sell-off and were "sceptical and suspicious" about the council's motives.

Further newsletters will be issued and an information roadshow will visit estates before tenants vote on the sell-off next year.

The question of the council being left in debt by the sell-off was ruled out at the meeting

It has already been estimated the shortfall between the existing council house debt and the sale price could be around £7 million.

However, Coun Sheelagh Delaney said the sale would not go-ahead if the council did not get a Government subsidy to cover any shortfall.

Committee chairman Coun Cliff Westell said the council expected to hear at the end of the month if a subsidy would be available.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.