COUNCIL house tenants in Sedgefield are being urged to arm themselves with the facts about plans for the future of their homes before a vote.

The borough council wants to transfer its homes to Sedgefield Housing, a new not-for-profit housing organisation set up by a partnership between the authority and Sunderland Housing Group.

The council says the move will unlock nearly £53m of extra funding to give tenants better homes and lead to environmental improvements and action to combat anti-social behaviour.

Council leader Bob Fleming said: "We believe transfer is the best option. We could keep the housing stock and afford to meet the decent homes standard ourselves. But we think our tenants want more than that.

"A housing association can get money that we cannot, to do work like fit new kitchens, bathrooms, upgrade heating and erect fences much quicker than us."

But the proposal has met stiff union-led opposition from people fearing the move is a privatisation of services that will lead to decline in services and loss of democracy.

Pat Allen, Unison's Sedgefield branch secretary, said: "We are against any form of privatisation, it is the loss of democratic rights.

"A housing association board does not have to answer to tenants in the same way elected councillors do, so tenants don't have a say in major decisions about their homes and lives.

"Sedgefield's council houses are already a good standard so we don't need this move to meet so-called 'tenants aspirations'."

Extensive consultation is now taking place and will continue through the spring.

Staff from the council and housing association have held information road shows, home visits and distributed thousands of newsletters about the proposal.

A council survey showed that about 40 per cent of tenants back the proposal, 17 per cent are against and many still have not made up their minds.

Campaign groups, including the newly-formed Sedgefield Against Transfer, also plan to hold further public meetings to share their views.

One issue both sides agree on is the need for tenants to find out as much as they can about the debate ahead of a ballot for or against large scale voluntary transfer later this year.