TACT pick joint chairman (From Hampshire Chronicle)

TACT pick joint chairman

1:05pm Wednesday 28th May 2008

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A RETIRED residential social worker who moved to Winchester two years ago has been voted joint chairman of the district's tenants association TACT (Tenants and Council Together).

Beryl White, lives near the city centre and moved to the area from Bexley to be near her son.

She takes over from David Cruden as chair of TACT's afternoon group and will work with Alan Rickman, who continues as chairman of the evening group.

She said: "I'm really happy to be living here - when I moved in the council gave me lots of information, which I never had where I lived before."

Mrs White was voted in at TACT's annual general meeting on May 21 where tenants heard about the future of council housing from two different speakers.

The chairman of national pressure group Defend Council Housing, Alan Walter, called on the Government to invest in council homes which "had stood the test of time and make sense".

Simon Eden, chief executive of Winchester City Council, told the audience that large scale transfer of homes "was not at present on the cards" but warned the council had to look at all options to maintain and build decent, affordable homes in the future.

Mr Walter, a council tenant in Camden, central London, said: "Most people would expect that all the rent we pay goes into a pot. That's not the case. All of our money goes to central Government and they decide how much money they're going to give back to each local authority.

"The bottom line is that they clear £6.1billion and only give back £4.7billion to local authorities. They are robbing £1.4billion from council tenants across the country."

Mr Eden warned that Winchester City Council faced severe financial pressure because its Government grants had increased by only 0.5 per cent - where as other costs were rising in line with inflation.

He said the council had last year helped to create a record 154 new, affordable homes in the district but the credit crunch could affect this in the future.

Mr Eden added: "We need to be creative in thinking about how we are going to protect the stock in our district. I don't think we can afford to be dogmatic council good; everything else bad'.

"Tenants like yourselves consider your future to be with the council. We need to look forward. We will be thinking about what's best for tenants now and today - we need to think what's best for tenants in the future."

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