Praise me, for I am a Portfolio Holder!

Nearly 5 years ago Craven Housing bought, at a give away price of just over £5,000 each, 1,540 houses from Craven district council. One of the reasons they gave for Craven housing being better than the council at housing needs was given in the blurb they published, thus:

"One of the advantages of being part of Yorkshire housing is that it can help Craven Housing in developing new homes for rent in the Craven area. Yorkshire housing has agreed to assist Craven housing in providing an additional 20 homes per year."

Well that's good news surely?
Especially as Craven has been seriously bad in providing affordable homes (see HERE)
But at least we've had around 100 built as promised?
Er no...
We've had around one dozen built, some 90 fewer than Craven Housing's apparent promise.
And now that housing association, and Craven council, have seen fit to boast (Craven Herald 7/12/07) that 60 affordable homes are planned, some 30 fewer than should have already been built!

They even boast that these proposals have been the result of two years' work!
That's speed and efficiency council style!

And the pompously titled
'Craven district council's portfolio holder for addressing housing needs'
(who on earth dreams up these pretentious and vainglorious titles?) Paul English, late of Bootle and now blessing Craven, has this to say:

"Craven district council has been strengthening delivery of affordable housing for some years now."

Oh really?
This is the truth of the matter, unlike English's boastful words:

On the question of how well CDC understand its housing market and developed the right proposals, the Audit commission states:
'There is a high risk of failure and poor outcomes.'
Grade - High need for improvement

On the question of how well the council monitors its progress and how effectively this feeds into future plans, the Audit commission states:
'There is a high risk of failure and poor outcomes.'
Grade - High need for improvement

Perhaps it might be more fitting if apologies for not providing the 100 affordable homes already due were offered, instead of empty boasts?

Even now we are not to get these 60 houses for free, for it is our land which Craven district council is giving to Craven housing, without asking us if we are happy at that, just as in 2003 they virtually gave away our houses, and it is our money (around £3.5 Million) which Yorkshire Forward are giving to Craven housing.
It is also our money (another £3.5 Million) which the government is giving to Craven housing to build these 60 houses.
Why we're even told that on top of the free land and our money, Craven district council is to add some money for Craven housing, an unknown amount!
Isn't it good that the council has unlimited funds at its disposal, namely ours!

Now at £7 million already promised from us, a further undisclosed sum from us, £3.5 million from Yorkshire housing, and free land donated by us, one can assume that these houses are going to be little short of magnificent.
Not including the further sum of our money promised by Craven district council, that adds up to £175,000 per dwelling plus free land from us and a further sum from Craven council. As land prices are normally around 1/3 of house value, these houses should be worth an average of over £262,000 each!

To spell it out to council and councillors, we're now going to see pensioners and others on fixed incomes, who may live in small terraced cottages, paying to subsidise expensive houses for those who are better off than themselves. When pompously titled 'portfolio holders' boast of these acts, it merely adds insult to injury.

Of course we DID get around £8 Million for our houses in 2003, not far short of 3 years council tax payment from householders in Craven, and one might wonder where that has gone.
Wonder no more, it's gone on the almost 25% additional staff which the chief executive decided was needed, and of course everyone in Craven knows that services have improved for those millions don't we?
And we can all confidently expect to see a reduction in our council tax bills this year can't we, now that Craven district council has shown it has money to spare?

The household of Councillors English meanwhile demonstrates efficiency by claiming not one, not two, but THREE sets of allowances for IT equipment from we long suffering council tax payers!
That's the English way of doing things!