A ROW has erupted between the Lib Dems and the Conservative Party over affordable housing in the Stratford District.

During a budget meeting held last month, a proposal was put forward by the Liberal Democrat group urging Stratford District Council to investigate whether it should invest funds in housing for rent. The party argued this would boost the amount of affordable housing in the district and provide a better return on council taxpayers' money but the Conservative Party voted against the proposal.

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Richard Cheney, leader of the Lib Dem group, said: "We find it quite extraordinary that the Tories are not even prepared to look at ways of using the council's resources more effectively.

"This could have been a win/win situation but the Tories are so blinkered in their approach to managing the council that they

could not see the advantages of our proposal."

However, Councillor Chris Saint, leader of the Tory controlled council, said that the Conservatives voted against the proposal as it was inappropriate to add it to a budget resolution and that they were looking to consider it.

"This would have dangerously set policy without any form of financial advice or a business case," he said.

"We agreed to the Lib Dem housing proposal being investigated and the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee has agreed to take a look into this at a later date."