Camden council has suffered a second setback in its struggle to meet the decent homes standard after four out of five residents on the Maiden Lane estate voted against a £34m private finance initiative.
The defeat will fuel Camden's calls for the government to offer high-performing councils a "fourth option" of direct investment in housing in addition to stock transfer, arm's-length management or PFI.

The council, whose tenants voted overwhelmingly against an ALMO in January, says that without a change it has no way of raising the £283m it needs to meet the decent homes standard (HT 16 January, page 7).

The PFI was the final hope for the estate, near King's Cross Station, after the defeat of the ALMO.

Councillor Charlie Hedges, executive member for housing, said: "Unless the government comes up with the extra cash, it will be many years before we can make major improvements at Maiden Lane."

In the ballot on Monday, 81% of residents voted against the PFI, with a turn-out of 40% or 212 people.

The vote is not binding – the final choice rests with the council executive, which will decide at its next meeting on 17 March. However, the executive is unlikely to oppose tenants' wishes.

Source

Housing Today