A HOUSING allocation scheme allowing council tenants and prospective tenants in Welwyn Hatfield to move outside of the borough is set to be approved Thursday night. Welwyn Hatfield Council has joined the Choice Based Lettings Scheme consortium

A HOUSING allocation scheme allowing council tenants and prospective tenants in Welwyn Hatfield to move outside of the borough is set to be approved Thursday night.

Welwyn Hatfield Council has joined the Choice Based Lettings Scheme consortium, with four other Hertfordshire local authorities in order to allow eligible applicants to select properties across the county.

The scheme, which includes Hertsmere, St Albans, Three Rivers, and Watford, is recommended for approval by the social overview and scrutiny committee.

It would mean appropriate candidates for a council house would be able to consider properties in all five local authority areas, rather than just the one they live in.

However, with each of the councils having its own allocation policy, a cross partner pool has been set up to allocate a proportion of homes from any of the five councils.

To help those most in need, Welwyn Hatfield Council has designed a banding system, based on an assessment of each candidate's need.

As part of the scheme, properties are advertised every two weeks in a free magazine and online.

The adverts will give basic details about each property.

Applicants can then choose the property they are interested in and place a 'bid'.

The overall aim of the scheme is to create increased choice within Hertfordshire.

A budget of �45,000 has been set for each year. However, the council does not expect to use the full budget.

For more information visit www.welhat.gov.uk