A COUNCIL is on tenterhooks as it awaits the follow-up to a damning inspection of its housing department.

In September last year, inspectors from the Audit Commission criticised Chester-le-Street District Council's housing department.

They described the department as providing a poor no-star service which was unlikely to improve and described it as wasting an estimated £480,000 through poor management.

They set a string of targets to improve the running of the department and vital progress on these goals will be assessed later this month.

The findings will be made public in September, but an in-house survey conducted by the department shows many targets have been reached, but a number have yet to be attained.

Housing services manager Brian O'Doherty, who took over the department about ten months ago, said: "I think we've said from day one, once I arrived here, we were set on improving what was extremely challenging for a very small district council to achieve."

While targets have been met for issues such as improving the handling of complaints and the way requests for repairs are handled, in other areas the council has failed to achieve standards set by inspectors.

The backlog of houses needing adaptations for disabled residents is unlikely to be met - which the council attributes to a lack of funding - and a survey of the condition of housing is unlikely to be carried out in time.

Mr O'Doherty said: "There have been more targets met than not met and it has taken a great deal of time and effort from the housing team to do that. The team has made a lot of positive changes, such as the tenants' panel.

"We're upbeat about it. As far as we're concerned, we have made significant progress with the resources we have at our disposal."

Inspectors will seek the views of residents during their assessment and give the department the opportunity to respond to findings.

Council leader Malcolm Pratt said the commission had been selective with its statistics when they were released last year.