Housing association properties could be purchased by council

In a confidential session, senior Powys councillors will decide whether or not to add 13 more properties to the council’s housing stock.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet on Tuesday, July 29, a confidential report on a stock transfer proposal of 13 properties from Wales and West Housing Association to the council was on the agenda.

Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer, Clive Pinney, had advised cabinet members to go into a confidential session to discuss the contents of the report, using paragraph(s) 14 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Council Leader, Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat), said: “We have one exempt item that concerns transfer of properties and I will ask the monitoring officer just to make clear why we are moving into closed session.”

Mr Pinney said: “Item 11 on the agenda contains commercially and financially sensitive and confidential information concerning both the council and the housing association.”

Cllr Berriman then proposed that the cabinet vote to go into confidential session, which was seconded by Cllr David Thomas (Labour).

Cabinet then voted unanimously to eject the public and press from the meeting.

The report by Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Matthew Dorrance, is expected to outline the pros and cons of taking over the 13 properties from Wales and West Housing Association.

Wales and West Housing Association is one of several registered social landlords in Powys that provide homes for people on the waiting list.

They manage over 12,500 affordable homes in 13 local authority areas across Wales.

Most of their homes are for rent, allocated by local authority housing waiting lists.

These range from one-bedroom apartments and larger family homes to retirement and extra care apartments.

Wales and West Housing Association were behind the first extra care facility built in Powys.

In 2017, Llys Glan Yr Afon in Newtown was completed. This £7.5 million, 48-apartment development was built in partnership with Powys County Council and is situated on the banks of the River Severn in the town.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service