COUNCIL housing could soon become a thing of the past in Ilkley if tenants vote to take control of their own estates.

Tenants are being asked to consider whether they want to stay with Bradford Council or transfer to a self-controlled, non-profit making community trust.

The council has been told by an

independent housing consultant that transferring all of its housing stock to an outside organisation is the only way to attract the £170 million needed to bring homes up to scratch.

District Councillor for Ilkley, Martin Smith, said that if tenants wanted the quality of their homes improved there was no alternative.

"We the council are not the best

managers of property," he admitted.

"We haven't been putting the right amount of money in to keep our properties up to standard. They don't get best value for money."

Coun Smith said that much of the

council property in Ilkley was close to being "slums".

"There will always be a need for accommodation for those in the poverty trap," he said. "That accommodation doesn't always have to be in the council's control.

"I see this as the only solution to improve the housing stock to the standard that the public deserve and the proposed system will allow the tenants some say."

An executive committee last week backed the formation of housing associations but the recommendation will need the endorsement of the full February council meeting.

It will be followed by a ballot of all the district's 27,000 tenants but can only go ahead if the majority vote in favour.

Janet Gent, Chairman of Ilkley Housing Tenants' and Residents' Association said tenants needed more information.

"Obviously we haven't got all the information yet that we need to make a

decision," she said.

She urged tenants to attend a meeting in April to find out more.

"We are getting someone to come along then and put the options to us. Up until then we don't know how tenants feel."

Mrs Gent, of The Crescent, said Ilkley had just over 300 council properties, many of which had been neglected.

But she was unsure about whether a tenant-controlled scheme could work in the town.

"I can't see how it would work in Ilkley," she said. "There's not a lot of housing on the estate.

"But people need more information before they can make judgement and it's got to be information that's not biased."

The tenants' association meeting is at Ilkley Grammar School, on Valley Drive, on April 4 at 7pm.

l Council tenants in Ilkley will soon be among the first in the country to be able to pay their rent over the internet.

Bradford Council has introduced the scheme to encourage more people to pay by direct debit, either weekly or monthly.

Information is available online at (www.bradford.gov.uk).