§ 26. Mr. Peter AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress being made by the city challenge partnerships. [7876]
§ Mr. CurryAnnual reports, reflecting the performance of all 31 city challenge partnerships during 1995–96, were received during the summer. The reports are very encouraging and show that city challenge is having a significant impact in regenerating some of the worst areas of urban deprivation.
The annual reports record outputs achieved in 1995–96 through each of the 31 city challenge partnerships programmes. The aggregated achievements were:
Over 26,000 dwellings were completed or improved (21 per cent. above target);Over 35,200 jobs were created or preserved (16 per cent. above target);Over 900 hectares of land were reclaimed or improved (4 per cent. above target);Over 700,000 sq m of new or improved business and commercial floorspace was provided (3 per cent. below target);Over 2,100 business start-ups (13 per cent. above target).Over £1 billion of city challenge funding is expected to attract over £4.7 billion of private sector leverage over the lifetime of the initiative.An independent study by a team from Liverpool John Moores university, the city challenge interim national evaluation, published by my Department in November, concluded that city challenge
is the most promising urban regeneration scheme so far attempted".