Uttlesford District Council's efforts to provide more housing choice to tenants have been praised in a new report.

The new Home Options letting scheme offered by the council was highlighted by the Audit Commission.

The Commission has also made particular mention of the friendly approach by staff and the high quality of the council's affordable housing schemes in its Community Housing inspection.

Overall, Uttlesford District Council was judged to be delivering a fair standard of service.

However, Uttlesford District Council has expressed disappointment over the rating the Audit Commission has given the authority on its prospects for improvement, and believes it does not necessarily reflect the current position.

John Mitchell, Interim Chief Executive, said: "We were pleased the Audit Commission has highlighted several areas in which we are performing well in meeting the housing needs of residents.

"We are very disappointed though with the assessment of our prospects for improvement, which the Audit Commission said were 'poor'.

"It is important to point out that the inspection took place during the week when the Chief Executive announced his resignation, when there was still considerable uncertainty over the financial situation and when staff were being placed at risk of redundancy.

"This Council has moved a long way forward since then and we believe that our prospects for improvement are in fact significantly better.

"Nonetheless, there are many useful recommendations in the report which we will be pursuing."