Cheshire West and Chester councillors are due to meet on Wednesday March 10 to grapple with the future management of Ellesmere Port’s 5,600 council houses.

COUNCILLORS are due to meet tonight (Wednesday) to grapple with the future management of the town’s 5,600 council houses.

The borough’s Executive will hear that with a massive £360m backlog of repairs over 30 years, equivalent to £63,000 a house, stock transfer “remains the most appropriate option”.

Thirty per cent of properties would currently fail the decent homes standard and virtually all the remaining homes would also fail if no improvements or repairs are carried out.

A detailed eight page report recommends there should be consultations with tenants, leaseholders, staff, trade unions and other interested groups before any decision is taken.

The outcome of the consultation would be considered and “if appropriate” steps would be taken to tender for an external housing service to secure better management of the stock.

Councillors are due to hear that apart from leaseholder management, an inspection of the current service revealed the prospects for improvement were poor or uncertain.

An interim management team has been brought in and an improvement plan has been drawn up.

Work is continuing to find “the most appropriate and deliverable solution to the investment requirements of the housing stock” according to the report.

Contracting out the management of the housing service is said to offer the best opportunity to achieve “excellent” services for tenants and other benefits.

The report points out that where councils have retained their housing service, “a significant majority” are rated poor or fair and only one is said to be excellent.

“We will be looking for a housing provider with a long track record in delivering the high standard of housing management services we want for our tenants” said Cllr Myles Hogg, (Con, Ledsham and Willaston), chairman the housing stock panel.

“We recognise improvements achieved by our own staff but also that there is some way to go”.

Cheshire West and Chester Council would remain responsible for the housing revenue account and all decisions taken regarding investment, rent-setting and service standards.

Cllr Hogg added:”As far as rents are concerned local authorities are subject to Government recommended ceilings and risk losing subsidy if those ceilings are ignored.”