UNION leaders have urged the National Assembly to stop council house transfers in the wake of Wrexham tenants voting 'no'.

The consultation process cost Wrexham Council £800,000, with a further £2m spent on the acquisition of the LEGO building from where Tai Wrecsam was to be run.

But residents voted by nearly 59% to stay with the council, and Unison, GMB, TGWU and Ucatt have jointly called on the Assembly to stop further transfer moves.

Unison local government regional head Paul Elliot said: 'It is clear council tenants want to remain with the local authority as landlord.

'Wrexham Council spent thousands of pounds trying to sell the transfer and privatisation of council houses to its tenants, money that would be better put to repairs.

'With the new prudential borrowing arrangements and the major repairs allowance of £580 per property year-on-year being introduced from April 1 2004, the policy of transferring housing stock must be reviewed.

'Transferring council housing stock away from local authorities to quangos, which are undemocratic, unaccountable organisations, is a false economy.' However, Howard John, director of the Welsh Federation of Housing Associations, has blasted Wrexham campaigners opposed to stock transfer and believes the 'no' vote may have drastic repercussions for tenants.

He believes that transferring the houses would have freed up millions of pounds which could have been spent on repairs and has accused Wrexham Against Stock Transfer (WASTe) of 'false promises'.

He said: 'Tenants had every right to decide and reject the transfer option, but this was about real lives and a 'no' vote will now affect the quality of life of thousands of Wrexham citizens.

'Stock transfer bodies, such as Tai Wrecsam, are required to develop tenants compacts and support tenant participation. Because they focus entirely on housing and decisions are not made on party political principles, it is much easier for tenants to influence policy and have complaints and suggestions taken seriously.

'The council have already said that they do not have the money for repairs in the budget, so where are they going to find it from? Money does not grow on the trees outside the Guildhall.

'I believe the tenants were poorly informed - or more accurately misinformed - by campaigners.'