Agenda item

RESOLVED

(1)    That Mrs Jean Lineker be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 10, Options Appraisal Review;

(2)    That Mr Norman Adams be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 10, Options Appraisal Review;

(3)    That Ms Beverley Mennell be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 10, Options Appraisal Review and Item 11, Bid for HCA Funding for Council House Building;

(4)    That Mr Chris Swinn be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 9, Housing Asset Management Strategy, Item 10, Options Appraisal Review and Item 11, Bid for HCA Funding for Council House Building;

(5)    That Councillor Palethorpe be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 7, Central Area Action Plan, Item 9 Housing Asset Management Strategy and Item 10, Options Appraisal Review;

(6)    That Councillor Malpas be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 9, Housing Asset Management Strategy

(7)    That Councillor Clarke be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 7, Central Area Action Plan, Item 9 Housing Asset Management Strategy and Item 10, Options Appraisal Review;

(8)    That Councillor Davies be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 7, Central Area Action Plan, Item 8 Joint Core Strategy Update and Item 10, Options Appraisal Review;

(9)    That Councillor Capstick be granted leave to address Cabinet on Item 10, Options Appraisal Review.

J Lineker asked Cabinet to consider keeping the housing stock rather than selling the stock to Housing Associations and private landlords. She loved her council property and was speaking on behalf of other residents who also wanted their council property to stay under the management of the Council. They trusted the Council and did not trust Housing Associations or private landlords. J Lineker explained that she had a bad experience with Housing Associations when they had not adhered to previous agreements. She strongly believed that tenants should be consulted, as it was such a big decision.

N Adams spoke on behalf of the Defend Council Housing group. He agreed with J Lineker and was glad that she had spoken to Cabinet as she represented the views of council property residents. He commented that in the past, the Council had paid expensive independent advisors to recommend housing options for the Borough, however this had been a mistake. He explained that Cambridge City Council had recently asked council property residents to vote on the matter on 4 June 2009 and 73% voted against selling properties. He believed that Cabinet should not take the matter any further until the residents really understood the review and that rather than using money on consultants, they should spend the money on good builders.

B Mennell believed that the report for item 11 gave a clear and open understanding about the difficult options that the Council had to face. She also believed that the previous administration had left the housing stock in a bad way to the point that some were beyond repair. She knew that there was a lack of money to spend on Council properties and explained that as long as the Council adhered to regulations and guidelines, she agreed with and supported the plans. With regard to item 11, she believed that the people of Northampton wanted good housing for the future.

C Swinn explained that the previous housing appraisal showed that 74% of tenants had been satisfied with the Council as their landlord and that residents had been told that in 2005, the decent homes standard would be reached. The best consultants were hired, however nothing had been done about the matter and he felt that the consultation property had not been done correctly. He believed that the decent homes standard would allow Councils to retain 100% of the negative surplus. He commented that there had not been a satisfaction survey in 2009.