BOROUGH Council chiefs at Warrington have approved a five-year extension of two loans to housing associations, totalling £35 million.
The council approved a loan of £5 million to the Arawak Walton Housing Association – the largest independent black and minority ethnic housing association In the North West – in May, 2017.
A loan of £30 million to the Irwell Valley Housing Association – a not-for-profit charitable association – was approved in April 2019.
Both associations are based in Greater Manchester. Arawak has been trading for more than 25 years and has an asset base of around £57 million and an annual turnover of around £5 million.
Irwell Valley has more than 7,500 units, including social and affordable housing lettings.
The council’s cabinet approved the extension of the loans following officers’ recommendations that it would promote economic regeneration and house building in Warrington and the North West sub-region.
2 Comments
Pingback: Council approves five year extensions to £35 million housing loans & More Latest News - 99news
This looks like yet another ‘invest to earn’ scheme. The weasel words give it away – there’s no guarantee of a single home being built in Warrington, we’re supposed to be happy that the loans would ‘promote economic regeneration and house building in Warrington and the North West sub-region’.
WBC knows they’re not to do this. Councils simply aren’t allowed to invest with return being the primary objective. And it isn’t as if they’re any good at it, as Redwood Bank and Together Energy show only too clearly.