Campaigners pledge to fight housing association’s proposal to control Northampton’s council homes
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to keep Northampton’s council houses under the control of Northampton Borough Council have said they will fight proposals to hand them over to a housing association ‘all the way’.
In 2005, plans to hand over the council’s houses were scrapped despite the authority spending £350,000 on a survey to ask the town’s 12,000 council tenants if they wanted their homes to be run by a housing association.
Now, the council has put aside a further £1 million to ‘examine the options now open to the authority’.
Council housing resident, Norman Adams, who is a member of the campaign group, Northampton Defend Council Housing, said: “They shouldn’t be gambling with our money. That £1 million could be used a lot better to pay for some of the work that needs to be done to the council houses.
“But this council just wants to downsize everything so they’re just left with contracts to manage.
“They’ve already done that with the bins and the leisure centres, but there’s no need to do it with council houses. So we’ll fight as hard as we can against this. We’ve been putting money aside for years to campaign against it, because we always knew this would come back.”
The Conservatives said they would ‘consult with tenants regarding a large scale stock transfer’ in their 2011 election manifesto.
And the leader of the authority, Councillor David Mackintosh (Con, Rectory Farm) last night said that was still the plan.
He said: “We’re setting aside part of our housing budget for asking our tenants what they feel about a stock transfer in the future. This is a key manifesto pledge and something people have told us they’d like us to do to improve the quality of our housing and the service our tenants receive.
“Over the next few months we will have a lot of important information to discuss with our tenants. They will soon be asked to make some important choices, and we want to be sure we provide as much information as possible to help them understand the options.”
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Comments
There are 43 comments to this article
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Adams RANT
Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 10:10 PMJoin Northampton Defend Council Housing, DEMO Guildhall 6:0pm Wednesday 29th February - tell the council not to spend a penny on questions - get on with the work to our homes
BQ
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:02 PMHOS. I am at the county council meeting where the Conservatives are ignoring public opinion against their proposed cuts to PCSOs. They are not going to listen to tenants' views. They are acting like the worst rogue landlords.
Pam Varnsverry
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 11:52 AMIts pleasing to see all the posts on this issue as I feel there is now a concensus of opinion that this town needs more housing, social or private. I would however point out that the LIb Dems built the first social housing in Northampton, in Kings Heath, in 20 years. To buy or rent privately requires a large deposit which many on low incomes struggle to raise, before paying the high rents or mortgages. There will always be a place and a need for social housing.
pushkin
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 11:08 AMApart from the sick and isabled nobody should have subsidised housing. Housing benefit shoul;d only be given to the sick and disabled. So what if you had five kids from different partners. Why should the taxpayer subsidise your children. It used to be if you cannot afford to have children dont have them. Close your legs and lets get this country on the move again
HOS
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 11:03 AMCan someone at the Chron please take the political spin off the headlines ? This news article should read "Campaigners pledge to fight NBC selling off its housing to Private Social Housing Companies" ? Social Housing companies are private businesses they cannot "take over" NBC housing stock. NBC are seeking to sell them to private companies ok? A bit too much spin there guys.
HOS
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10:55 AMSo what happens to the highly acclaimed critical improvements to Northamptons council owned homes under the Decent Homes Act? All of those who have been promised essential improvements to seriously sub-standard housing between now and 2015 can whistle??? Northampton council houses came bottom of the list for quality of council housing for the whole of the UK last year. As a town we have the most poor quality and deprived housing in the whole country. Because of lack of investement by NBC for decades. NBC will end up literally giving their housing away to Private Social Housing companies because their housing stock is so seriously sub-standard. I can't help but wonder if NBC have already made their decision to sell them, and they are just going through the motions with yet another meaningless public consultation? NBC should honour their commitment to improve their "worst in the UK" housing stock before selling them on?
20SOMETHING
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:51 AMSpending £2 million is a complete waste of taxpayers money
BQ
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 08:42 AMMonkeytosh has not listened to the 71% of respondents to the budget consultation who have said the Conservatives should keep funding PCSOs. The big NBC council housing sell-off is coming to a street near you soon.
lady muck
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 07:45 AMRed Neck...I agree...it's interesting that 'living in the suburbs' is a point against me....that is of course how most of us live. Of course, there are many 'nice houses' which are far superior to my own 'nice house'.
Red Neck
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 06:58 AMLady M. No point trying to reason with Mcnabb. He is clearly a bitter, twisted individual who loses no opportunity to spew out his class warrior claptrap - ever going off at a tangent to bring in his pet moans. One thing I do agree with him about though - snobbery is an awful attitude to display, and Mcnabb demonstrates the very worst type - inverse snobbery.
lady muck
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:36 PMTeddy...no need for the insults. I have never said that I am a superior being because I own my own home and you know nothing of my personal circumstances, family background, political beliefs or opinions of council house tenants (some of whom are my relatives). I am simply pointing out that in my opinion, if you are lucky enough to live in a a council home, you have got the soft option...unless you are sick or disabled. I don't see why this is 'snobbery' and I am disappointed that you feel the need to insult anybody who has a different view to yours. TC...my point about Bob Crow is that (as I am sure you know very well), he has a salary which would easily enable him to purchase his own home. He chooses not to do so and thus deprives more deserving people of a council home. I am sure that he has done the maths and calculated that he is better off banking his money and living in a council house....but then, that's socialism. I take your point about council tenants being responsible for their own decorating etc, but in an occupancy of 50 years, a houseowner will probably have had to replace central heating, boilers, kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors, but I still believe that on a financial basis, the council house tenant will always have the edge.. If sufficient housing had been built in this country, it is likely that we would have more private landlords and consequently a more mobile labour force.
lady muck
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:33 PMTeddy...and while I'm here, I haven't actually referred to the NHS or workfare.
TeddyMcnabb
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:14 PMWag the dog, hit northamptonlibdems website, their alternative budget for the county council includes "protecting" the vulnerable, well we all know how when they were in control of the budget at N.B.C they protected the vulnerable ask any sheltered housing resident. Lady Muck, busting your gut, well to date there is 370.000 human beings, stripped of their human dignity, self respect and completely humiliated read here http:www.boycottworkfare.org when you have digested that hit the socialinvestigation website and read about the peers and m.p,s of all parties who have a financial and vested interest in the privitisation of the N.H.S and then think of the first person to date, [ we are going the "american way"] a disabled young lady who is bed blocking told to pay £298 per day or go.
WagTheDog
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 10:43 PMHey folks, take the Liberal Democrats publicity blurb for what it's worth. That is, not even the cost of the paper its written on. A few years ago they adopted the slogan "Labour Can't Win Here". That was in reference to one local election, where the number of candidates Labour fielded wouldn't give them a majority on the Council. So that statement was true. At the last General Election, they stated the same "Labout Can't Win Here" on all their leaflets. But in a General Election, any single candidate can win, regardless of who he or she is or what they stand for. It's an open race, and only decided when the votes have been counted. I think that proves that the Liberal Democrats couldn't care what they say or promise, so long as it sounds good in their dreams.
TeddyMcnabb
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 09:30 PMTony Clarke, you hit it on the button about snobbery, it was only last night i was discussing this with one of my brothers and i said ive never been in a country like here for it, having lived, worked married and delivered my daughter [30 next month] in socially advanced Holland, they often [ particularly the elderly] said to me how terrible the inequality and snobbery in the U.K is, i will never argue with that. I lived in a council house for the first 10 years of my life with my 10 siblings and parents, my parents bought because of the number of brats they had, but at no time did they think they were somehow superior, out of my 10 siblings i and a sister are the only two who are non houseowners, I know for certain when my dutch friernds read some of the comments on here they will think what a very strange people. When i meet anyone its not what their wearing, what they have in the bank or where they live, that matters to me, its what type of human being they are that matters,. and i know some right nasty bustards with expensive clothing, filthy rich, living in luxury and havent a true friend in the world. The comments from tish say it all, the snobs would do well to dwell on them. The one greatest thing i have where i live is the super rich neighbours i have, super rich in human understanding and decency that is, marvellous people who have had marvellous lives.
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