Winchester tenants continue to snub the council's efforts to interest them in the future of their homes.

The council is consulting tenants about the future management of their houses through a series of roadshows.

But so far only 22 people have attended five public meetings held across the district. Another ten are planned.

A City Council spokesman said the low turnout could indicate that the tenants are more than happy with the service provided by the council.

It was also stressed that more informal drop-in sessions held during the day have attracted extra interest

But one caller to the Daily Echo said many tenants thought the council was set on trying to offload the housing stock on to a housing association.

Kevin Murray, of Firmstone Road, Winnall, said: "The reason people don't go to the meetings is that they know the council want to get rid of the houses.

"They have made the decision in their own minds. But the tenants don't want change. They want to stick with the devil they know. Housing associations are worse."

As a result of the disappointing turnouts, the city council has scaled down the number of staff attending the meetings.

If numbers are low they now hold an informal discussion instead of persisting with an official meeting.

Alan Rickman, a tenant and chairman of TACT, the representative tenants' group, urged more people to attend the meetings: "It's really important that all tenants come out and tell us what they think. We want to make sure we get the best deal for tenants." CIVIC chiefs have created a new post to ensure that ambitious plans for the future of council housing are delivered in the coming years.

Winchester City Council has appointed Richard Botham as its new head of landlord services.

He starts his new role with immediate effect.

Mr Botham, 41, is currently head of business services and already works very closely with tenants on rents, right tobuy and housing finance.