A HOUSING trust has improved significantly and been given a one-star rating after an independent inspection.

Cherwell Housing Trust, which owns and manages properties across Oxfordshire, is providing a "fair" service and has promising prospects for further improvement, according to a recently published Audit Commission report.

The inspection is a marked improvement from the trust's last inspection two years ago when it was awarded no stars and placed under Government supervision for a year.

This time, the audit commission praised the quality of information given to tenants, the time in which it dealt with repairs and empty properties, and its strength in collecting rent.

A survey of tenants also found they were happier with their landlord, with 69 per cent of them expressing satisfaction, compared to 56 per cent during the last inspection.

But the trust was found to be weak on advising tenants about issues with asbestos, in involving residents, and the report described service charges as unclear, weakly managed and not representing value for money.

The chief executive of the trust, Nicholas Yeeles, said: "Given that standards and expectations are increasing all the time, it is a truly significant achievement to have made the improvements required to achieve one star and promising prospects in less than two years.

"We have assured the Audit Commission that a judgment of one star will give us no cause for complacency."

The trust has undergone a number of changes since it became part of the larger Dominion Housing Group following the zero-star inspection two years ago, and it has made efforts to involve more residents in decision making.

Board member Charlotte Edwards, a 19-year-old part-time student and single mother who lives at Cherwell's mother and baby unit in the city centre, said things had got better for tenants.

As a member of the trust's resident consultation committee, she said: "We can give our opinions and find out if we think Cherwell are doing the right thing. Obviously, they don't live in the houses they provide, so how would they know otherwise?

"I've seen a lot more focus on residents since I arrived a few years ago."