COMMUNITY leaders have raised fears that council chiefs ‘are making a rod for their own back’ by only offering sheltered housing to people with severe medical problems.

Members of Flintshire’s community and housing scrutiny committee said they were concerned that fewer local authority sheltered properties are being offered to elderly people who can still live largely independent lives.

Mold councillor Carolyn Cattermoul said: “The allocation policy is making it more and more difficult.”

Cllr Stella Jones, who represents Caergwrle, said: “In my ward at the moment we have a good mix of people in sheltered housing. There are people with fewer medical needs and they help the more frail people.

“But with the way the current allocation points system works we seem to be allocating properties only to very frail people and not those who are independent.

“Some people in my ward are coming back with no points even when they do have some medical problems.

“My fear is we are making a rod for our own back by doing this. We are taking live-in wardens away and having more frail people living in sheltered housing.

“We are going to have to throw more help at them which will cost more money in the end.”

Clare Budden, the council’s head of housing, said the county’s allocations policy is currently under review.

She said: “The review will help to address some of the issues and concerns which have been raised.

“Part of the reason more frail people are living in sheltered accommodation is that people are living longer and in Flintshire we have an ageing population.

“We have to allocate properties to those who are most in need at the time.”