§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Manchester, Gorton constituency, of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [136169]
§ Ms ArmstrongThe Gorton constituency has benefited from a range of Government initiatives since 2 May 1997 including:
Regeneration (including Housing Initiatives)
The capital receipts initiative in Manchester has allowed a greater degree of flexibility in investment in the council stock. The investment in the Gorton constituency in public sector housing is
820W
£ million 1997–98 6.3 1998–99 8.0 1999–100 6.9 2000–011 8.9 1 Projected Northmoor Road Renewal Area
This was declared in 1998 and is an integrated regeneration programme including social, environmental, and physical elements and has received approximately £3 million in funding from Single Regeneration Budget funding, Housing Capital Programme, and significant additional investment from the Housing Corporation and the private sector.
Gorton Renewal Area
This was declared in 1992, and was one of the first new-style housing "Renewal Areas". It has had approximately £2.8 million investment from Housing Capital Programme since 1997.
A6 Corridor
Longsight and Levenshulme form part of this Single Regeneration Budget scheme which also includes Ardwick. It has been allocated £9 million over the 1997–2004 period (to date £4 million has been spent by the partnership) to improve social and economic regeneration in the area.
The North West Development Agency have also spent £850k on a mixed use (residential and industrial) development in south Levenshulme.
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Manchester will receive an estimated £41 million over the next three years as part of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund announced recently. The fund will help local authorities meet their Public Service Agreement targets in areas such as raising schools standards, and reducing unemployment—reducing burglary, narrowing the health gap between deprived areas and the rest of the country and improving the standard of social housing.
New East Manchester Ltd.
New East Manchester Ltd. one of three Urban Regeneration Companies in the country, has the responsibility to encourage development and improve demand across the whole of East Manchester.
Transport
The recent opening of the final section of the M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road (Denton to Middleton) will improve communications to the constituency.
Expansion of the Metrolink will provide new links between Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Ashton and Manchester Airport. Total cost is £500 million of which £250 million will be provided by Government. While the constituency will not be directly served by a new line, new stations on the extensions to Ashton and Manchester airport will be accessible to the constituency.
The South East Manchester Multi Modal study which covers the constituency in its study area will make recommendations for a long term strategy, and a plan of specific interventions, to address the transport problems in the study area.
821WLocal Government Finance Settlement
The following table shows the Government Grant to Manchester as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. A statistical analysis of what proportion was spent in the Gorton constituency is not available.
£ million 1997–98 362.47 1998–99 375.62 1999–100 390.57 2000–101 401.97 European Funding
Objective 2 1997–99
The City Pride Action Plan area covers the Gorton constituency. The Plan has been allocated £36 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund grant to support a range of project activity from broad business support and innovation and technology to investment in the tourism and cultural sector.
In addition, the constituency overlaps 3 of the 6 Community Economic Development Action Plans that cover the city of Manchester. The 3 Action Plans—Princess Road Corridor, Stockport Road Corridor and East Link—have been allocated over £5.5 million and among the projects being supported in the Gorton constituency are:
- Rusholme Environmental and Physical Improvements (£70,000 ERDF)
- Longsight Millennium Recycling Action (£75,000 ERDF)
- Levenshulme Block Improvement Scheme (£100,000 ERDF)
- Monastery of St. Francis and Gorton Trust (£13,000 ERDF).