Council house sell-off among proposals made part of review
Councillors have agreed to press ahead with a review of the future of more than 4,000 council houses, which could see them sold off.
Shropshire Council has stressed that the 4,200 tenants' homes, in Bridgnorth and Oswestry, are not at risk – but the authority has been investigating the "future management" of the homes, including the possibility of selling them to another organisation, since March last year.
The review was expected to have been completed earlier this year, however the council agreed to ask consultants Savills to do more work on the options.
At the latest meeting of Shropshire Council's cabinet the findings of the review were shared in a behind-closed-doors session – although they remain confidential – and councillors said they were happy for it to continue.
Councillor Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s deputy cabinet member for housing, said: “A review by property expert, Savills to explore the future management of the council’s 4,200 homes was considered by cabinet.
“The findings from this review were noted and a decision was made to progress with this work to ensure that we have enough of the right housing for the people of Shropshire, both now and in the future."
Councillor Carroll also reiterated the council's message that tenants do not face losing their homes.
He said: “We know that our tenants' homes are important to them and we want to reassure them that their homes are not at risk.”
Savills had been asked to look at a number of factors relating to the housing stock, which has been managed by Star Housing since 2013, but is owned by Shropshire Council.
The consultants were asked to look at any financial opportunities from the homes, believed to be worth millions of pounds, the "wellbeing of tenants", a "sustainable future" for the homes, and making sure there are enough of the right homes to cater for demand.
A spokeswoman for the council said they had originally decided to look at the future of the homes because of the authority's reducing budget.
Laura Pell said: "In our business plan 2016-19 we identified changes in funding and pressures on spending. We recognised in the plan that a key activity would be for the council to consider the impact of those changes and for STAR Housing to work with the council as they explore the future management of council homes.
"As part of this, the council commissioned Savills property consultants to carry out an initial review. It then instructed Savills to carry out a further review which has now been completed."
