Commissioners in west edge closer to new housing authority

Commissioners in the west of the Island are investigating the possibility of creating a new joint-housing committee.

Talks were held in July between the Department of Infrastructure and several local authorities about the proposal.

It would mean all public sector homes in the area would be administered by a central, board comprising members from each authority.

Chairman of Peel Town Commissioners Alan Jones says terms of reference are now being drafted, after a way forward was agreed between all parties.

He believes a shared board administering public sector homes in the west would bring a ‘local touch’ to the service, and lead to shared waiting lists.

Commissioners in the area already work together to provide sheltered housing.

Similar joint authorities already exist in other parts of the Island; the idea was first mooted in a government housing review back in 2013.