Wirral’s new RSL signs £125m loan in drive for decent homes

New housing association Wirral Partnership Homes signed a £125m loan with Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday, the same day that it officially received transfer of more than 13,000 homes from Wirral council.

The Merseyside-based association will use the loan, as well as £47m projected rental income between now and 2010, to meet the decent homes standard. In total it has pledged to spend £400m on improving stock over the next 30 years, including £10m in estate and environmental works for fencing, paths, gates and boundary walls.

The transfer follows a ballot in March 2004 in which 77% of tenants voted favourably on a turnout of 61%.

Brian Simpson, Wirral Partnership’s chief executive, said: “It marks the start of a new beginning for tenants. We will keep rents affordable and give tenants a bigger say in how their homes and housing services are run.”

Councillor George Davies, Wirral’s executive member for housing, said: “This is a real step forward and means better housing for tenants. The council could not afford to maintain its stock and the transfer safeguards its future.”

Also on Monday, the council’s remaining 900 homes on the Beechwood & Ballantyne estate were transferred to Beechwood & Ballantyne Community Housing Association after a tenants’ vote in September favoured Beechwood over Wirral Partnership.

Meanwhile, Wirral council has responded to calls for transfer to be halted amid allegations its consultation with tenants failed to give both sides of the argument.

In a letter to the borough’s district auditor, a collective of local trades unions, Wirral Trades Union Council, claimed councillors and officers of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council had used “biased and misleading” information” in statements and letters issued to tenants and “only gave pro-transfer arguments”.

But the council said all literature was checked by the ODPM, the Housing Corporation, lawyers and independent tenant adviser Tact@Dome. Alan Stennard, director of regeneration for Wirral council, said: “The council is satisfied that the consultation on the proposal to transfer has been entirely open, honest and transparent.”