A campaign group that was established to fight the council housing transfer has been voted on to the committee that advises Swindon Council on housing decisions.

Swindon Tenants’ Campaign Group first claimed victory after an option to transfer the council’s 10,500 homes to a housing association was rejected by a ballot of tenants in January.

Now the group has been invited to select a member to join the council’s Housing Advisory Forum, which is made up of councillors and tenant and leaseholder representatives. Martin Wicks, STCG’s secretary, said the decision of the forum was a reflection of the work the group had done in campaigning against the transfer.

He said: “I think it’s a recognition that we did play a big role in expressing and organising the opinion of the tenants, which was reflected in a 72 per cent no vote.”

The make-up of the housing advisory forum, chaired by a tenant, is agreed on an annual basis with nominations made by various groups.