TENANTS desperate for repairs to their houses have been given a ray of hope.

They could benefit from a new Bill going through Parliament which would mean a multi-billion pound boost for homes.

It will allow councils to spend the money they have received from people who bought their council homes: at the moment, they can only spend 25 per cent of receipts.

Mr Sandy Paterson, Bury's new director of personal and community services, said: "It might not mean a great deal of money but at least it's a start. We can start to refurbish the housing stock, or use the cash to lever in extra money from outside."

He said it was unlikely that Bury would use the cash to build new council houses, but spend it on current homes instead. "We owe it to the tenants," he said.

Meanwhile, a consultation meeting will be held on July 9 at Bury Town Hall to discuss next year's housing strategy.

Tenants groups, voluntary organisations, building societies and housing associations are expected to attend and draw up plans on how to spend money for improvements.

Bury is hoping to be given £2.2 million, or 15 per cent more than last year, by the Government to carry out capital works.

But despite the optimism at Tuesday's housing committee, co-opted member and former Tory councillor Mr Sam Cohen said an extra 15 per cent would not go anywhere near the amount Bury needs.

"Whatever sympathies Labour have, you will not get enough money to fulfil the expectations of the tenants," he said. "I want the best for our tenants but we know there's no new money for the next couple of years. You could be letting a lot of people down."

Chairman Coun John Smith said Bury had suffered from 18 years of neglect. "It's a bit rich to expect Labour to do it all within weeks of being elected," he said.

And fellow Labour councillor Sue Arnall said: "We feel there's a gleam of hope, that we can have social housing instead of feeling ashamed to take rents from people without giving them the service."

Mr Paterson accepted Mr Cohen's sentiments, but said he was trying to be as positive as he could.

"We cannot pretend that £400,000 will redress the balance, but it would be nice to see us going back up the charts.

Mr Paterson said anyone with an interest in housing would be welcome to attend next month's consultation meeting.

Bury's housing plight was highlighted in Parliament by the new Labour MP for Bury North.

David Chaytor used his maiden speech in the Commons to demand that the borough gets a fairer cash deal from the Government.

He pointed out that a survey showed that Bury needed to spend £86 million on housing improvements.

"When the needs of the community for better housing and most low-cost housing are so great, and the people are willing to work hard to rebuild their own communities, why have the Government starved Bury of the capital investment needed to do the job?" Mr Chaytor told MPs.

Afterwards, he said: "This should provide a welcome boost for housing improvements in Bury.

"I look forward to the council putting forward imaginative schemes for government approval, in particular to tackle the problem of youth homelessness."

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