Council housing decision needs to benefit tenants and local economy

Ceredigion’s Elin Jones AM has welcomed the announcement that the tenants of Ceredigion County Council’s housing stock have voted in favour of transferring the ownership of their houses to the new Tai Ceredigion housing association. 58.3 per cent of tenants voted in favour of the proposal and the transfer will take place within a year.

As a result of this decision, the Welsh Assembly Government will now provide Tai Ceredigion with £40 million in order to assist with the work of bringing the local housing stock up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2013.

Following the announcement of the ballot result, Ceredigion AM Elin Jones said:

“Council tenants have shown that there is support for the ownership of their houses to be transferred to the new Tai Ceredigion housing association, thereby unlocking a sizeable investment of £40 million from the Assembly Government to help bring these properties up to the required standard.

“I hope that the board of Tai Ceredigion will now continue with their hard work and
ensure that the ownership of these houses is transferred at the earliest possible opportunity so that improvement work can commence and allow tenants to enjoy the benefits of this decision as soon as possible”.

Plaid Cymru’s Penri James added:

“This very important investment of £40 million in Ceredigion’s housing stock is welcome during an uncertain economic climate. I hope that Tai Ceredigion will provide local builders with the opportunity over the next five years to successfully bid for the work required to improve the standard of its houses.

“It is important that Tai Ceredigion make every effort to ensure that local companies are informed about all work opportunities. Ceredigion has been praised by the Housing Minister, Jocelyn Davies AM, for the quality of its information packs – it’s vital that this continues when it comes to offering work that supports the local economy”.