22 June 2012 | By Rhiannon Bury, Inside Housing

Councillors in West Dunbartonshire have scrapped plans to transfer up to half of the councils stock to a housing association.

Tenants living in the council’s 10,500 homes were due to be balloted in September about the proposal, which would have seen up to 5,000 homes sold.

The council has now decided to invest £95 million in the homes so they meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015. This cost will be partially met by a rent increase of around 7 per cent for the next five years.

The council have also promised around £3.6 million for regeneration projects across the area.

David McBride, convener of housing at the council, said that retaining the housing stock was the best option for tenants and would also be the best way of protecting jobs and services.

Mr McBride added: ‘This is a really positive decision by the council which is in the best interests of our valued tenants. It was by no means certain that tenants were going to vote for partial stock transfer and a no vote would have delayed essential housing improvements and prevented us meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standards by 2015.

‘We recognise that there are real challenges and opportunities ahead for this council but we have the capacity and determination to overcome the obstacles and deliver the improvements in the quality of our housing.’