WEAR Valley's 6,000 council tenants are been given a major say in managing the estates where they live.

New Tenant Participation Compacts, due to be launched this month, offer everyone living in local authority homes, including people who have bought their properties, a chance to play a part in improving their lives.

The compacts are formal agreements drawn up between residents and the council setting out aims and ambitions on both district and neighbourhood levels.

The district-wide compact is there to provide a framework for better consultation and give tenants the power to influence decisions on strategic housing issues.

This has now been agreed with the Wear Valley Customer Panel, which is made up of council officers, councillors and representatives of residents' associations. A launch date has been set for October 20.

Neighbourhood compacts dealing with local day to day issues will be developed over the forthcoming year.

Council chiefs see them as a key tool in tackling local issues which could have an impact on wider community conditions.

It is up to tenants and residents to decide how much they want to be involved and at what stage of the decision making process.

Throughout this year housing officers have been meeting with established residents' associations to discuss the new compacts. They are also looking at devising new ways of communicating with residents so that as many people as possible can take part.

The council's housing committee chairman Brian Myers said: "We are looking forward to giving our tenants and other householders a wider role in the running of their estates. We are always striving to find ways of improving the quality of our services and the district compacts will play a crucial part in helping us achieve this."

Anyone who would like to know more about the Compacts or residents groups in Wear Valley can call Graham Pilkington at WVDC, telephone (01388) 765555, ext 299.