HC Deb 21 January 1987 vol 108 cc587-8W
Mr. Leighton

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many community refurbishment schemes have been completed or set up;

(2) if he will give details of a typical community refurbishment scheme, including the different amounts and sources of funds, and the sources of labour; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Patten

Community refurbishment schemes normally combine community programme, urban programme and local authority resources to enable unemployed local people to undertake two-year programmes to upgrade the environment on run down council estates. The resources used will vary according to the number of dwellings covered by the scheme, the amount of work carried out and the number of workers involved.

CRS were pioneered by the Department's Merseyside task force in the early 1980s. Eleven schemes have been completed on Merseyside and a further two schemes are in progress. In my Department, estate action (formerely known as the urban housing renewal unit) has extended the CRS initiative to the rest of England and in its first year has developed 10 schemes which are either under way or about to start—in Gateshead, Wigan, Hyndburn, Bradford, Calderdale, Kingston on Hull, Leeds, Coventry, Walsall and Blackburn. It is for local authorities to work up schemes in detail, but estate action is available to advise and has identified over 20 other estates as possible candidates for CRS.

Estate action encourages local authorities to combine CRS with the development of more localised management arrangements and other improvement works as part of a comprehensive approach to turning around unpopular and difficult to let estates. Where appropriate, estate action may make additional resources available to local authorities to help support these other measures.