Rules to improve council housing quality could be tightened in Barnsley

Four suggestions have been made to try to improve performance around ‘void’ homes – properties between tenants.

When they are empty they do not generate rent, but councillors who make up a scrutiny board to examine the authority’s work, have suggested the system of getting fresh householders into their properties needs to be tightened up.

They include taking steps to ensure internal decorating is up to scratch before homes are re-let and a move to recruit tenants to act as inspectors when work has been carried out, to make sure it is of an adequate standard.

At present Berneslai Homes, the arms-length company which manages the town’s council housing, is responsible for that and inspections are often done by its own staff, on a random basis.

Coun Jeff Ennis, scrutiny board chairman, has suggested tenants trained to do the job would act in an independent role.

It was also suggested that more houses should be kept empty to provide immediate occupation by the homeless, reducing the need to provide bed and breakfast accommodation, a practise which seen some people housed outside the borough due to lack of space.

A further suggestion was buying grass cutting machinery which also collected the clippings, to prevent them spreading onto pavements and producing a slipping hazard in wet weather.

Coun Ennis said he was aware of instances on the Grange estate in Brierley where older residents had slipped and hurt themselves.

Council leader Sir Steve Houghton said the authority needed to go over all the recommendations, including the grass cutting, but said: “To my knowledge there isn’t a council in the country collecting it.

“If we can cut it more frequently, we will look at that. People do raise it, so it is no good ignoring it.

“We need people living in quality homes, whether it is the private sector or council stock,” he said.