biffvernon
Member
- Messages
- 4,607
- Location
- Lincolnshire
our government said:
our government said:Stop-pathfinder - epetition reply18 February 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Abolish the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Housecrusher Programme."
Details of Petition:
"This Policy was introduced by John Prescott supposedly to regenerate areas where housing markets had "collapsed" in reality the markets had not "collapsed" and it had the effect of spurring housing associations to deliberately run down areas to create the impression of "decline" and "market collapse" so that they could justify the compulsory purchase."
The Government's response:
The Housing Market Renewal (HMR) programme is a long-term commitment by the Government that was established in 2002 to help tackle the problems of nine areas with acute low housing demand in the North of England and the Midlands, and to reconnect them with their local housing markets. Many of the areas covered by the programme were experiencing extreme market failure, with properties exchanging hands for a few hundred pounds, and consequently were falling far behind local and regional averages.
£1.2 billion is being invested between 2002 and 2008 and the Government expects to commit around £1 billion to the programme over the period 2008-2011. A decision on specific spending allocations for HMR areas will be made shortly.
As a recent report by the National Audit Office has found, since the programme began housing markets in local authorities chosen for pathfinder intervention have, on the whole, performed better than in local authorities without pathfinder intervention which also had the most similar problems of low demand although on a lesser scale. It is wrong, therefore, to suggest that these areas have been further run-down. The NAO also found that all pathfinders have succeeded in closing the gap in prices with their regions.
The HMR programme uses a mixture of approaches, including refurbishment, demolition and new build, in accordance with the specific needs of their particular area and the wishes of the affected local community. To date there have been around 40,000 refurbishments, 10,000 demolitions and 1,100 new properties. Demolition is only proposed in very limited circumstances, where it is essential for the wider regeneration of an area. Levels of demolition proposed have fallen from around 90,000 at the start of the programme to around 57,000 now, and these levels are kept under review, to reflect changes in market circumstances. Local Authorities will continue to work with HMR Pathfinders and other low-demand areas to develop their existing strategies for their particular areas, and will continue to consult residents on their further proposals.