Homes: Hibbert tells council it’s time to act

Reporter: Janice Barker
Date online: 28 August 2008

OLDHAM Council should be helping people to buy or rent homes to slash its waiting list of more than 11,000.

That is the view of opposition cabinet member Councillor Dave Hibbert, who says there are only 150 empty council houses and flats available.

And he says the First Choice Homes Oldham properties are mainly one-bedroom flats.

Councillor Hibbert wants Oldham to consider the latest announcement under the Government’s Housing Private Finance Initiative (HFPI) which makes up to £1.8 billion available to councils.

They have to submit expressions of interest by the end of October.

Councillor Hibbert, who was regeneration spokesman when Labour ran the council, said: “For all of those families in limbo, these are desperate times and a new approach has to be found. And ironically, that new approach could be a return to the past.

“There has to be a combination of options on offer: renting and a range of affordable or flexible mortgage arrangements.

“The Government is committed to make available £270 million for the provision of 5,000 socially rented and affordable homes in the near future.

“This fund could enable Oldham Council to buy privately-built houses which are proving difficult to sell, and then to make them available for rent.

“Their ownership would be a capital investment for the council-tax payer and the rental income would pay off any loans.

“There is room here for a partnership with the local housing associations. Oldham should take advantage of this developing situation and make sure that our town is in at the beginning.

“An expression of interest simply means that we are interested in the scheme and would like to know more about it.

“It does not demand a commitment at this stage. But if we don’t do it now, we would be in danger of losing the opportunity.”

The cabinet member responsible for housing, Councillor John McCann, said the difficulty with private finance schemes (PFI) is the long lead-in time.

He said: “You can face a wait of two to 21/2 years before take-up.

“When we wanted to build council housing in Hollinwood under a previous Lib-Dem administration, Labour won power and put a stop to it.

“First Choice Homes Oldham (which manages Oldham’s council houses) now has developer status, so it can borrow to build homes, but they will be small schemes.

“We are talking about a nationwide problem here and the Government needs to put more money in.”