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Monday, January 16, 2012
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ADAMS: ‘I CAN TURN IT AROUND’
RIGHT TO BUY COSTS CIT Y £32m BY ALEX CAMPBELL
alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
MORE than 1,300 council houses worth in excess of £87 million have been sold in six years for just £55 million. New figures show tenants have bought 1,326 houses from Stoke-on-Trent City Council since 2005, with some homes being sold for just 30 per cent of their market value. A total of 696 homes were sold with the Government’s maximum discount of £26,000. The sales rack up a total loss of almost £32 million to taxpayers, but it means thousands of tenants have been offered a way on to the property ladder. The figures have emerged as the authority is consulting on cuts of £24 million, following £35.6 million of cuts in 2010/11. The homes were sold under the Government’s Right To Buy scheme, which offers tenants the chance to purchase their homes at a discount. Government plans will allow councils to offer discounts of up to £50,000 on their properties to open the scheme to thousands more tenants. The average discount is 42 per cent. Savings include:
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A 43-YEAR-OLD man is due to appear before Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court today after a man was found with serious head injuries. Mark Wint, of Cornwallis Street, Stoke, is accused of causing grievous bodily harm to 45-year-old David Heath. Wint appeared before magistrates on Saturday, and was remanded in custody until today. Mr Heath was found on Friday in City Road, Fenton, near to the Newtown pub. He was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire where he has undergone surgery for his injuries, which magistrates were told are life-threatening.
Shock over teacher death
Government, while the council receives a 25 per cent cut. From next year, the council will become responsible for paying for house building and maintenance using cash raised from rent. Officers have warned that a huge take-up on right to buy could leave a shortage of cash for maintaining the city’s 19,000 properties. Val Bourne, the council’s assistant director of housing services, said: “Right To Buy changes could affect our business plan and we’ll have to manage that.” The council is currently building 17 two-bedroomed bungalows in Chell Heath at a cost of £884,000 – the first new council homes built in at least six years. Councillor Gwen Hassall, cabinet member for housing and neighbourhoods, said: “There are significant challenges in the housing industry but, despite this, delivering new housing is a priority in the city.”
BOYS RELIVE NIGHT MATE WAS HIT BY POLICE CAR SEE PAGE 5
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THE sudden death of a 54year-old teacher has stunned a community. Liz Wood, who taught French and German at Painsley Catholic College in Cheadle for nearly 30 years, is understood to have died in her sleep yesterday. The mother-of-three, of Charles Street, Cheadle, would have been celebrating her birthday today. Her devastated husband Ray last night described her as his “soul mate” and said: “It has been the darkest day of my life.” Mrs Wood also taught French to pupils at feeder schools in Cheadle, including St Giles’ RC Primary School. See Page 3
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Man in court on GBH charge
Fears new scheme could leave council short of cash
■ A council house valued at £80,000 and sold for £54,000, a 32.5 per cent saving; ■ A house valued by the council at £71,000 but sold for £45,000, a 36 per cent saving; ■ A flat worth £19,000 sold to tenants for just £5,700, a 70 per cent saving. Dorothy Meigh, of Townsend, below, bought her council house for £11,500 in the 1990s. She would have been paying £250-per-month in rent at present rates, but instead she has already paid off the £100-permonth mortgage. The 76-yearold said: “We wouldn’t have been able to afford a mortgage without Right To Buy – unless we had a big win or something. “If the Government is going to let more people buy their houses it’s a good thing, as long as they’re at the right price.” A council surveyor assesses the value of a property following a Right To Buy application, and a discount is applied based on the amount of time they have been a tenant. Three quarters of the money raised goes back to the
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