Pause put on non-essential repairs to council housing in the Highlands
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Members of Highland Council’s housing committee have agreed to pause any non-essential repairs to council homes in the strath and wider region.
The decision follows a report detailing a projected £3.055 million overspend on the housing revenue account.
The council says this is mostly down to the rising costs of repairs and maintenance.
To get the budget back on track, housing bosses asked councillors to agree to pause non-essential repairs.
This will mostly apply to external work such as repairing garden gates, fences and paths.
It could also bring a halt to any environmental improvement works, such as landscaping of council estates.
Members reluctantly agreed to the plan at council headquarters in Inverness earlier today.
Sutherland councillor Richard Gale observed: “Non-emergency repairs could become major repairs if they’re left to lie for a long period of time, then we’re playing catch-up.”
Councillor Gale asked housing bosses when the repair work would be likely to resume.
Council leader Raymond Bremner offered some reassurance that the decision would be kept under constant review, adding 'we hope that times will change'.
In response, housing boss Mark Rodgers reminded members that the housing revenue account is effectively a closed budget.
This means the account is solely funded by council tenants’ rent, and the council has a legal duty to balance the books.
Put simply, the council is not allowed to overspend so the £3 million has to be saved.
Nonetheless, Councillor Isabelle MacKenzie, for Inverness Millburn, warned that if the council neglects housing over a long term, it could become the new roads.
The council faces an enormous backlog of roads repairs following decades of under-investment.
Despite their reservations, members unanimously agreed to pause housing repairs to tackle the overspend.
