§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what consideration he has given to the proposals submitted to him by local authorities in East Lancashire to tackle the problem of run-down and abandoned housing in the region. [50684]
§ Ms KeebleThe East Lancashire Housing Forum submitted in December 2001 a proposed programme to tackle the problem of low demand and abandoned housing in the area. The Government is considering the proposal in the context of the spending review, along with the proposal from various northern housing bodies for a housing market renewal fund.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 10 April that nine areas where the problems of low demand housing are most acute, of which East Lancashire is one, were being invited to work with Government to establish pathfinder projects to tackle low demand. Their aim will be to provide lasting solutions for communities blighted by derelict homes through investment and innovation. They will do this by developing a strategic approach for regenerating their sub-regional housing markets that will bring together key stakeholders, inform future investment, and test out new and innovative approaches to combating low demand.
A key element of the pathfinder projects' approach will be a unified agenda. Experience shows that it is not sufficient to tackle the housing problem alone. Local authorities must work closely together with their 399W partners—the police, the health authority, the Regional Development Agency, Housing Corporation and private sector—to rejuvenate our towns and cities.
Low demand and abandoned housing is a major problem. But it also provides a unique opportunity to restructure and rebuild our cities for the twenty-first century. We must now seize that opportunity. The Government will work with local people to deliver the change necessary and bring hope to those communities.