HOUSING chiefs in Tonbridge and Malling will have to confirm by Wednesday, February 5, whether they want to refuse changes to the right to buy in the borough.

Under Government plans announced last week, the borough is the only area in Kent which could see the discount for tenants buying their homes cut to £16,000.

The board of Tonbridge and Malling Housing Association is meeting on Thursday night (January 27) to decide whether to opt out of the scheme which the Government hopes will keep affordable homes available in areas with high house prices or few available homes.

The changes would only apply to tenants who lived in their homes when the council transferred its housing stock to the housing association in 1991.

John Ridley, the housing association's chief executive, said: "While we acknowledge that many people aspire to own their own home and that the right to buy is a means of them achieving this, we also see every day the need for additional homes for those in housing need in the Tonbridge and Malling area."