CAMPAIGNERS staged a protest hours before Wycombe District Council decided to go ahead with a ballot of tenants on the controversial issue.

The postal ballot, which runs from July 17 to August 11, will decide whether Wycombe District Council can transfer its housing stock to not-for-profit company Wycombe 2000 Housing.

Cllr Bill Bendyshe-Brown, chairman of the council's stock transfer panel, said: 'I am delighted with the positive response we have received from our tenants during our consultation period, an almost two to one indication in favour of transfer to Wycombe 2000 Housing.

'As a result, we've agreed to spend an additional £1.6m on improvements tenants want to see and that's on top of the existing £42.9m we have already committed.'

Members of anti-housing transfer pressure group Hands Off Our Homes demonstrated against the plan at the district council's offices in Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, last Thursday.

Di Smith, 52, of Vale Road, Chesham, said: 'The public needs to know that this issue is really important right up until the end. The whole community is going to lose. Our recent survey showed that a 60 per cent majority are against the transfer.'

Paul Burnham, 45, of Gayhurst Road, High Wycombe, said: 'We hope to convince the council to drop the plan. They carried out a survey which they say showed people wanted housing transfer. Ours shows different. People do not want to be railroaded into transfer.'

The council has decided against offering free double glazing to tenants under the new company.

Cllr Bendyshe-Brown said: 'Over 4,000 existing tenants have double glazing and pay for it. We believe this is right and should continue. I know some quarters wanted to see change but if subsequently the company wishes to adopt a new policy, then of course it is at liberty to do so, with tenants' approval, after transfer has taken place.'

Electoral Reform Ballot Services, which is running the independent ballot, will dispatch voting papers to more than 8,000 tenants on July 17. The result will be declared on the afternoon of August 11.