Tenants’ yes vote unlocks £149m

MP claims council housing transfer ballot was ‘a fiddle’

TENANTS have voted to transfer the ownership and management of council housing stock to First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) — securing £149 million of investment.

More than 13,500 tenants were eligible for the ballot, with 8,997 (66 per cent) voting — of which 7,787 said yes and 1,210 said no.

It meant a majority (57.4 per cent) of all tenants, or 86.6 per cent of those voting, were in favour.

The £149 million will be invested in homes in the next five years — money that would not have been available if the homes had remained under the control of Oldham Council.

The council is set to get £212 million of housing debt written off by the Government.

Council chief executive Charlie Parker said the massive investment would be one of the biggest the borough has seen in generations, making a real difference to tenants, providing employment and improving neighbourhoods.

He added: “I am absolutely delighted that we have been given a clear mandate to transfer our homes to FCHO, which can now start delivering homes to the high standard we have offered to tenants.

“Oldham Council has done its very best for these tenants for the last eight years but we have never had access to funding on the scale that this deal can now deliver.”

FCHO chairman Harry Burns said the result was beyond his wildest dreams, adding: “This result is a tribute to the trust that tenants have built up in FCHO over the last eight years.

“The council took a terrific gamble to set up FCHO. This is a success story that we will build on. This will be tenant-led and they will be involved at every stage.”

Oldham Transfer Tenant’s Forum chairman Frank Caron said: “We are absolutely delighted with the result. The value behind what the council has done is enormous. They have been steadfast and given a role to the tenants.

“Now’s the time for action. We have to get on with it and make sure it won’t fail.”

FCHO will now register with the Tenant Services Authority and complete legal requirements before becoming a housing association by the end of the year.

The ballot has been mired in controversy after a war of words broke out between Oldham Labour MPs Michael Meacher and David Heyes — who say tenants were given no real choice — and Councillor John McCann, who says the MPs are out of touch and tenants had been informed of all the pros and cons.

Mr Meacher insists tenants were only given one-sided information, no choice of landlord, no choice on self-financing proposals and less than half will get improvements.

He questioned why the debt could only be written off by the transfer going ahead and said tenants on heating schemes will pay higher fuel charges of £1.50.

He said: “I believe that people should have a choice and be told the truth. It’s been ‘if you want anything done to your homes to improve them vote yes otherwise you will not get anything’. It’s a rigged ballot.

“There was no independent information. I don’t agree that’s a fair, proper and just ballot at all — it’s a fiddle. Tenants have not been told the truth and the consequences are quite serious.”