Council to Invest £60 Million in Housing

COUNCILLORS have approved an ambitious plan to invest £60 million to improve Charnwood Borough Council’s housing stock over the next five years.

The Council’s Cabinet approved the proposal on Thursday, February 16, to invest the cash as part of the Council’s 30-year housing business plan.

Properties in greatest need of refurbishment will take priority under the improvement plan which will see insulation work completed on all Precast Reinforced Concrete (PRC) properties by 2015 and all Decent Homes work complete by 2021. Also high on the list will be improved heating systems.

The investment has been made possible thanks to changes in Government rules about the way council housing is financed.

Councillor Jane Hunt, Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Housing, said: “Under the new rules, the Council is allowed to keep all the rent it collects rather than pay it in to a national pot.  This gives us more control over the money, and most importantly means we can increase how much we spend on improving our housing stock.

“Over the next five years we plan to spend around £60 million on a programme of improvements which will include works to Precast Reinforced Concrete (PRC) homes and the ongoing Decent Homes programme.

“This is fantastic news for tenants, especially those whose homes are in greatest need of investment as they will be the first to benefit from this investment scheme.”

Because of the rule change, the Council will first have to pay £79.2 million to the Government, which it will borrow and pay back over the thirty years. This means that all the investment can be paid for out of the Council’s own housing account, which will be made up of loans, government grants and around £18 million a year income from rents. 

The proposals have to be ratified by Full Council on February 27, 2012.

Charnwood Borough Council has 5,847 rented, 287 leasehold dwellings, 18 leasehold shops and 824 garages.

These are managed on behalf of the Council by Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing.