EAST LONDON ADVERTISER www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk 3rd August 2006 p 5
Residents choose to stay put
Another blow for Housing Choice
By TED JEORY
ANTI-Housing Choice protesters notched up a victory this week after another East End estate voted against transferring to the private sector.
Tenants on Collingwood and Horwood estates in Whitechapel and Bethnal Green voted by a margin of just three votes to retain their council landlord - and kick overtures by Eastend Homes into touch.
But their celebrations were dampened as it emerged that Tower Hamlets council is looking at other ways of offloading control of its vast housing stock.
It was the first Housing Choice vote since the moratorium imposed by the Town Hall in the run up to May's local council elections.
But as campaigners probe why the vote of 227 to 224 was so close, the council's cabinet was last night (Weds) considering whether to offload its remaining 19,000 homes to a new Arm's Length Management Organisation, or ALMO.
The council's major argument for Housing Choice was that it did not have enough money to bring authority-owned properties up to the Government's 'decent homes' standard.
Housing associations, they said, were the best way to 'deliver' vital repairs and improvements.
However, as more estates vote against transfer, the council wants another way of ensuring new funds.
Officers looked at out-sourc-ing the entire housing division to a private contractor, but decided that business model had too many risks.
Instead, they want to create an ALMO - a council-owned company run by residents, councillors and independent nominations that would be able to attract new Government funding.
But the Town Hall's opposition Respect party is furious that tenants have not been consulted on the plan, which it claims will just mean more red tape.
"The council just wants to play 'God' with people's lives," a Respect spokeswoman said.
"They're failing to push through Housing Choice and now that want this new two-stage privatisation process instead.
"But ALMOs in other parts of the country don't work, or even guarantee the funding the Government says is there."