Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing given formal approval

Final approval has been given to the setting up of a new company to manage the 4,200 council-owned homes in the Bridgnorth and Oswestry areas. 

Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing (ST&RH) will come into being on 1 April 2013, and will be wholly owned by Shropshire Council, which will maintain ownership of the properties. 

The difference is that ST&RH will be run by a separate board, made up of councillors, independent community representatives, housing staff and tenants themselves, meaning tenants will have a direct say into how their homes are managed for the first time. 

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet formally approved the new arrangements at a meeting on Wednesday 13 March 2013, following a year-long consultation process with tenants about the proposal. 

The consultation included over 70 drop-in sessions, newsletters sent to all tenants, a freephone and email address for tenants to ask questions, and two tenant conferences. 

49% of tenants who responded said they were in favour of setting up a new organisation to maintain and manage their homes, and 25% said they were not in favour. 

The report approved by councillors outlined the formal governance arrangements of the new company, and also put forward some options for how the community housing services which are remaining within the council could be provided in future. 

The report, item 9 on the Cabinet agenda, can be viewed here.  

Sue Adams, Shropshire Council’s landlord services manager, said:

“We have been working extremely hard to get this point, and the reaction of tenants to the proposals has been very positive.  Everyone’s looking forward to the future and we are determined that Shropshire Towns & Rural Housing will continue the council’s work to provide good quality, comfortable homes for those who need them.”