TENANT representatives and councillors at Preston Borough Council have developed a new action plan aimed at improving services in the borough.

The Preston Tenant Compact has been hailed as a major step forward to sealing positive relations between tenants and borough councillors.

It aims to nurturing tenant involvement services over the next five years and includes a range of plans to develop local agreements where people can influence decisions made at estate level as well as information on how the housing department measures up.

The Compact initiative has been developed following extensive joint training sessions between councillors, council workers and tenant representatives and was officially launched at a special ceremony last month at the Celebrity Restaurant, in the Guild Hall, Preston.

Coun Andy Campbell, chairman of Preston's Housing Committee, was delighted with the development.

Hesaid: "The council has been fully committed to developing tenant and resident participation for many years.

"This Compact signals these links formally and sets out a framework for extending dialogue and consultation."

Jack Jarvis, chairman of the Preston Tenants' Umbrella Group, added: "This is a great opportunity.

"It's about time we all work together and pool our knowledge to make changes that will benefit all of our residents."