The key to 9,000 homes

NEARLY nine thousand tenants of Warrington’s Golden Gates Housing have now been sent the borough council’s formal consultation document on the proposal to transfer all its homes to a housing association.
This follows nine months of consultation between the council, Golden Gates Housing (GGH) and the tenants on what they want for their homes and estates.
Tenants have to respond to the document by February 16 after which the council will review what they have said and decide whether or not to go ahead with a ballot in which tenants would vote on the proposals.
The transfer would only go ahead if more than half those tenants who vote are in favour of the proposal.
In fact, the transfer would mean little change for tenants in terms of their day-to-day dealings with their landlords because the council’s plans is to convert GGH into a housing association rather than bringing in another association.
This would be known as Golden Gates Housing Trust (GGHT).
GGH was set up by the council in 2004 as an Arms Length Management Organisation – still owned by the authority but having a degree of independence.
GGHT would be an independent “not for profit” housing association which would take on both ownership and management of the properties. It would be run by a voluntary board of management, made up of five tenants, three council nominees and four independent people. They would be unpaid, other than out-of-pocket expenses.
In a letter to tenants, the council’s chief executive, Diana Terris, (right) says: “The council believes that the transfer would be the best way of providing tenants with good quality, well managed and well maintained homes at affordable rents in the future.”
The council forecasts that if the transfer goes ahead, GGHT will be about to spend £105 million on home improvements in the next five years – some £40 million more than GGH would be able to spend.
Over the next years, GGHT would be able to spend a further £96 million – £36 million more than GGH.
Over a period of 30 years, GGHT would be able to spend £530 million compared with £348 million under the existing set-up.
In addition, the council says if the existing situation stays in place, levels of service are likely to have to be cut while under GGHT there would an improvement in front-line services and issues such as repairs and dealing with anti-social behaviour.
Coun Bob Barr, (left) the council’s executive member for housing, said the extra resources available to GGHT would deliver improvements such as new kitchens, new bathrooms, central heating, double glazing, etc., tackle disabled adaptations, etc while rents would remain affordable.
He said: “In fact, tenants would receive a five year rent guarantee.
“They would get more for their rent money as all the rent money would stay in Warrington. At the moment, almost £10 of every tenant’s rent each week goes to central government to support social housing in other parts of the country.”
After the current consultation, the council will inform of tenants of any changes to the proposals and decide whether to go ahead with a ballot.
This would be carried out by an independent organisations over a three or four week period and if the vote is in favour of transfer, the council would then seek the government’s permission to go ahead.
If all this happened, it is planned the transfer would take place before the end of the year.