By BRIAN TILLEY

Last updated at 14:17, Thursday, 29 July 2010

TYNEDALE’S principal social housing provider Milecastle Housing will be no more next year.

The group, set up as Tynedale Housing when the former Tynedale Council sold off all its council houses in 1999, is to be swallowed up by its parent company, Isos.

It will be amalgamated with two other regional social landlords, Castle Morpeth Housing and NomadE5, under the Isos banner.

While tenants should notice no major changes, with the same services being provided in the same places by the same people, the creation of one board from the present three will see three directors losing their jobs.

The group, with nearly 12,000 homes region wide, has been consulting with its tenants, staff, and partners on the move, which is aimed at streamlining operations to provide better value for money.

Isos already owns and manages all three operational companies, so the group believes bringing them together as one is the obvious next step in its development.

The aim is to have the “new” Isos operational by April.

Isos chief executive Keith Loraine said the changes would save the group around £500,000 a year which could be re-invested into Isos services.

Mr Loraine said: “The world does not stand still and we have an obligation to our residents, as well as the people in our region who do not have the homes they need, to keep improving and growing.

“By spending less on running our business and more on services and residents’ homes, we will fulfil our moral business obligation to ‘do more’ for the communities we serve.

“We recognise that some of our partners might be wary of how the change in structure might affect their relationship with us, but we are committed to consultation and we are confident everyone will understand that these changes are not only desirable, but necessary.”

In the meantime, Haltwhistle is to lose more than the Milecastle name.

For the company has decided to close its office in the town by the end of this year, subject to consultation with the local community.

The writing has been on the wall since April last year, when Northumberland County Council opted to switch facilities for paying council tax from Milecastle to PayPoint outlets in the town.

Now the Milecastle board has decided that the cost of running the office can no longer be justified, given the dwindling number of customers paying their rent in person each week.

Only 100 people a week are paying in person, a drop of 13 per cent on the previous year.

Although the company still plans to have a presence in the town, either in the new library or by holding regular surgeries, rent payments will no longer be accepted.

Milecastle tenants will still be able to report repairs and seek advice in person.

Milecastle managing director Bill Tebay said: “This decision has been difficult to reach, but we have an obligation to spend our tenants’ money as cost effectively as possible.

“It is important we keep our costs to a minimum, while still delivering the services expected of us.

“We know our tenants appreciate being able to speak to our staff in person, so we are now working on alternative ways of allowing them to do that.”

Chairman of Haltwhistle Town Council, Coun. Alan Sharp, said he was “very disappointed” that the office was closing.

He said: “I do understand that there are very few people using it and at the end of the day it’s a commercial decision Milecastle had to make.

“However, it’s there to provide a service in the town and residents, especially the elderly who use it, are going to find a big change if they can’t pay their rent at the office.

“It’s absolutely vital that Milecastle inform tenants of how they can pay their rent in the future.

“It’s important that Milecastle has a presence in the town.

“There needs to be somebody available at all times for residents to raise their concerns and ask questions.”

First published at 09:39, Friday, 23 July 2010
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk