Sheffield dropped from transfer list, forcing options rethink

The council must now reconsider the options available for ensuring its 62,000 homes meet decency standards by 2010. Partial or estate transfers remain an option. Lord Rooker is believed to have signaled that Sheffield's decision to back away from transfer will not prejudice any future attempts to rejoin the list.

Jan Wilson, Sheffield council leader, said: "Whole stock transfer is not necessarily the right solution for a large and diverse city like Sheffield and I'm delighted that we can now drop this option without damaging Sheffield's position when the government announces the outcome of its review.

"The council can now get down to working with communities in the city to look at what's the right solution for them."

Sheffield's council housing currently carries a debt of roughly £465m, and it is estimated that a total of £1bn needs to be spent on repairs and modernisation.

The announcement of Sheffield's removal from the list follows months during which the Labour-led council's stance on stock transfer appeared to undergo a complete reversal. As the largest single party in the council since local government elections in May, Sheffield's Labour group initially voiced its intention to abandon the stock transfer process embarked upon by its Liberal Democrat predecessors.

But five weeks ago the Labour group said it intended to keep Sheffield on the transfer list.

John Jefferies, Sheffield's head of housing strategy, said coming off the stock transfer list would allow the council to impartially assess all its options before the government's Communities Plan, expected in January.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said: "It's normal for councils to submit applications for stock transfer more than once. We expect them to look again at stock transfer in the near future."

Lord Rooker's decision adds strength to the case for partial transfers put by some opponents to the policy.