VIEWS SOUGHT ON FUTURE OF COUNCIL HOUSING IN STOCKPORT

Stockport Council created Stockport Homes in 2005 in order to access Government funding to improve the standard of the Council housing.

Since that time, Stockport Homes has managed the Council owned properties and overseen significant investment in the housing.

The current contract between the Council and Stockport Homes is due to come to an end in October 2015.

On 15^th July the Council’s Executive agreed that 2 of the options under consideration were not viable and to proceed with investigating the merits of the two remaining options:

• to renew the contract with Stockport Homes or
• to bring the housing back within Council control.

The Executive also agreed an assessment process for these 2 options and that a final decision would be made in the autumn.

An independent advisor has been appointed to act on behalf of tenants and leaseholders and to ensure that the process is fair and impartial. With the support of both the Council and Stockport Homes the advisor is keen to seek the views of tenants and leaseholders which will then be fed into the assessment process.

A survey to find out what tenants and leaseholders think about these two remaining options is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/StockportITA or it can be completed over the telephone by calling 0300 124 0114. The survey closes at the end of September.  

In addition, a series of consultation events for tenants and leaseholders will take place during the summer to allow customers to speak directly to the advisor (details are in the advisors newsletter currently being distributed to every household affected).

Councillor Partrick McAuley, Stockport Council’s Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said:

“Stockport has been recognised nationally for the work we have done on social housing and we are optimistic for the future.

“What will help us achieve our aim of ever improving Social Housing in Stockport is community engagement in the decision making process. I’d encourage as many Stockport Homes residents as possible to attend the consultation meetings and give us their views.”