A TROUBLED council house repairs department could collapse if estate managers carry out their threat to pull out.

Angry members of Burnley's Brunshaw Board, who manage more than 1,200 council properties, have called in the District Auditor to investigate their concerns over the running of Burnley Maintenance Services.

They say they may no longer use the council team for repairs and spend their £438,000-a-year budget with another contractor.

They claim the present service is inefficient and say they have "no trust" in its senior management.

Their threat comes as council housing bosses decided in private last night to declare seven redundancies in the works team to head off a projected £66,000 loss this year.

But in a letter to all councillors, Brunshaw Management Board say the proposed shake up, which involves sacking four area managers, would "exacerbate the already inefficient service".

They say the present system is chaotic and many jobs charged for have not been carried out .Other work remained on the department's pending computer for months after completion.

The service, they add, had a £318,000 repairs backlog and the situation was worsening. The Board complain that the council, at all levels, had failed to address their concerns and the door had been constantly slammed in their faces.

The letter adds: "We have had no alternative but to ask the district auditor to look into our problems."

The Board backed an alternative survival plan for BMS, involving saving area managers' jobs but closing the council's Princess Way depot.

But last night's special housing committee rejected the proposal after officers warned it would add more than £100,000 to costs.l+2l-2

Coun Malik said councillors had ordered a full review of the efficiency of the BMS service to address the concerns expressed by the Brunshaw Board.

And he appealed to the Board not to pull out but to hold full discussions with council leaders.

"Pulling out will not resolve anything. It will only exacerbate the problem," he added.

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