Tory Raid on Money for Affordable Housing

3.01.09pm GMT Mon 25th Feb 2008

Lib-Dem's say money from sale of council housing should be used to help fund new affordable housing.

At a Council budget meeting on Thursday 21st February £320,000 was taken to fund the purchase of Oakley Wood and a further £100,000 taken to fund the Rural Initiatives Scheme from money set aside for Affordable Housing.

The 'Right to Buy' of Council homes by sitting tenants was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in October 1980. Since then the Council has sold over 4215 homes, and many of them can now be seen in estate agents at prices most local people seeking to get onto the home ownership ladder just cannot afford.

For 28 years the council has used the money raised from the sale of council houses to help development costs for housing associations to enable them to provide affordable homes for local people.

Cllr Alan Boad said, "The Tory Administration have taken away money from the sale of council houses, which have been used to help build more new affordable homes, to use it for non housing expenditure. It is immoral and wrong!"

At the council meeting on Thursday Cllr Alan Boad called on the Council to reject the Tories plans and to pay for the two schemes from the council's general reserves.

He said, "We supported the purchase of Oakley Wood but, it's a simple question, is it morally right to use money received for housing to pay for non housing activities?

We say NO!"