Cheltenham Borough Council vote to take back control of housing stock

Cheltenham Borough Council will take back control of its social housing stock

Cheltenham Borough Council will take back control of social housing services from its management firm.

Councillors unanimously agreed to close down the arms length company, Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH), following a 20 year partnership.

The move is due to "increasing financial pressures" and a changing regulatory framework, the council said.

It added that tenants, leaseholders and customers will not be adverse affected by the decision.

Tenants of the council's housing stock have been sent letters about the plan and a section of the authority's website has been dedicated to providing more information.

In a statement, a council spokesperson said that, over time, customers will benefit from:

• A direct link into the council

• A more streamlined customer journey - with housing, waste, recycling, council tax, benefits, all managed through one organisation

• A potential for the council to combine teams so that they work more efficiently within neighbourhoods, so that knowledge is shared, duplication is avoided and services are efficient and more resilient.

They added that all current CBH tenants, leaseholders and customers will be given the opportunity to state their priorities in shaping future housing services.

Ms Hay said bringing services together into the council will give them the opportunity to work directly with tenants

Council leader Rowena Hay said the council can now start to move forward with plans to bring the two organisations as one.

"It's so important to us that customers continue to influence housing priorities now and into the future," she said.

Ms Hay said the council will consult with them on what the future of their housing services will look like beyond the transitionary period.

"Ultimately, we are answerable to our customers, so their voice is critical in how we shape the future delivery of our housing services," she said.

'Have to change'

Ms Hay added that the cost of living crisis has also placed significant financial pressures on the provision of services.

"This crisis has come at a time when we have set out ambitious plans to deliver more affordable homes, and to be carbon net zero by 2030," she said.

"In order to help meet these aims, and to ensure that we continue to provide even more quality homes and invest in our communities long into the future, we have to change the way we do things."

During the transitionary period, customers can continue to report issues including repairs, neighbourhood concerns and complaints in exactly the same way as before - directly to CBH.

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