By ALENA HIGGINS
DISCUSSIONS with community and affordable housing providers are underway as anxiety builds around council’s decision to divest itself of pensioner housing.
Southern Downs Regional Council director of business and community services David Tuxford confirmed council is currently in talks with organisations that may have an interest in the long-term plans for community housing regionally.
It follows council’s decision last October to sell off 24 community units at Fitzroy Street, Warwick, with a view to review the remaining 20 units it co-owns with the Department of Housing in stages.
Mr Tuxford said contrary to some suggestions, council would not be handing any back to the department.
“At this stage … it is not the decision that has been made,” he said.
“As mentioned previously, the equity percentage varies considerably across properties.
“If council handed properties back to the department, there would be no compensation payment to council for its current equity share and the council-owned land would have to be donated.”
But Mr Tuxford did offer some reassurance to Granite Belt pensioners earlier this week, telling another local media outlet that “most units in Stanthorpe will not be considered for sale”.
Though he did concede the duplex at Sugarloaf Road could be “divested” after discussing options with tenants.
Deputy Mayor Ross Bartley said council had concluded that community housing was not its “core business”.
“We are trying to remove council from the responsibility of providing housing of that nature,” Cr Bartley said.
“A lot of council funds are spent maintaining these units so in fact ratepayers are looking after community housing when really it would be more equitable for taxpayers to fit the bill.”
Cr Bartley said he would be “loathe to displace anyone” and he “didn’t imagine any of his fellow councilors would support anyone being put out on the street”.
“I am hoping that someone will pick up the challenge of administrating and running that type of community housing,” he said.
“Charity begins at home.”
Mr Tuxford stressed the review of pensioner housing was a staged process with support mechanisms for tenants built in place.
“Over many years council staff has built good relationships with tenants and council is certainly concerned about the stress caused by the change,” Mr Tuxford said.
“Council is committed to assisting pensioner housing tenants and helping to ensure appropriate consideration is found along with improved support services into the long-term with other community housing providers.”
An exact timeframe for the sale or tender of the units at 54-56 Fitzroy Street is not known as council staff will work with tenants to resolve accommodation issues, Mr Tuxford said.
Council currently owns all the land at 54-56 Fitzroy Street and owns the wooden cottages at 56 Fitzroy Street, which were built in the 1960s, outright.
