Camden council demanded this week to be given the same borrowing powers as registered social landlords.
Charlie Hedges, the north-London council's executive member for housing, has written to housing minister Lord Rooker calling for more flexibility with private finance to help it meet the 2010 decent homes target. The council needs £270m to meet the target.

Consultation on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals to expand borrowing powers for councils, set out in The Way Forward for Housing Capital Finance, ends tomorrow. Hedges' letter was sent to Rooker ahead of the council's full response to the consultation.

Camden has been investigating setting up an arm's-length management organisation. But since Camden is council of the year, with two three-star ratings from the Audit Commission, Hedges is calling for extra borrowing powers whether the council goes down the ALMO route or not.

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

Camden was this week awarded two stars with "promising prospects for improvement" for its housing repairs service.