COUNCIL house tenants in Teesdale are being urged to take an active role in the future of their homes after a survey revealed that the local authority will need to find £24m over the next 30 years to meet Government housing standards.

A stock survey last year on homes owned by Teesdale District Council found that the authority would need to invest millions of pounds into housing to meet the Government's Decent Homes Standards by 2010.

The survey also estimated that millions more would be needed to maintain the required council house standards until 2030.

In the light of the research, the authority has decided to hold a series of briefing sessions to outline future ownership options and consult tenants.

Four options were considered in an appraisal last year, which include retaining ownership of council houses by the authority, transferring council houses to the ownership of a registered social landlord, setting up an arm's length management organisation, or using private finance.

Teesdale District Council is considering the options and, as part of this evaluation process, a series of consultation events will be held for tenants at the council's offices in Galgate, Barnard Castle.

At these events, tenants will have opportunities to find out more about each of the four options and receive independent advice from the Tenant Participation Advisory Service.

The first briefing, on local government finance, is being held on Thursday at 1pm.

The meeting will be followed by consultation events at 10am on February 6, 10am on February 19 and 10am on March 5.

Julie Fuller, housing policy officer for Teesdale council, said the briefings were the first stage of a lengthy consultation programme.

"We would encourage tenants to visit the briefings so we can explain the details of the four options we have outlined and answer any questions people may have," she said.

"We will also be looking to visit villages in the dale along with advisors from the service to hold similar briefing sessions. We want tenants to point out to us which option they feel is the best."

For more details contact the council on (01833) 690000.