a question of perspective
New figures released by the government claim to show the Pathfinder regeneration scheme is reviving housing markets in nine communities in the North and Midlands.
In the accompanying press release, housing minister Yvette Cooper gushes about how the scheme is improving the communities lucky enough to have them.
Key findings of the snappily titled "Housing Market Renewal Basement Evaluation Report" include:
* a sharp fall in the proportion of sales under £50k
* and the curious and unsubstantiated claim that "overall, local residents have supported the proposals and the pathfinders have placed substantial emphasis on community engagement"
Hmmmm. I wonder what the many activists I've spoken to recently, who are all living in the shadow of Pathfinder, would think of this.
I'm certainly no expert, but the feeling among affected communities seems to be that house values have been rising in many areas IN SPITE of HMR, and not BECAUSE of it.
Part of the reason for this is surely that these areas are attractive to first-time buyers who, due to the booming market, can't afford to go elsewhere, and that this is pushing prices up.
Houses which were being bought up for £30k when Pathfinder was launched are now often worth four times that sum - which must turn on its head the concept of market failure that the whole scheme is based on.
Speculators are also having an effect - investors who buy up properties which may face demolition in the future, rent them out to short-term tenants and hope to cash in on rising values when it eventually comes to compulsory acquisition.
The claim of strong engagement with the community seems frankly laughable. Perhaps there are examples of quality consultation, but I haven't heard any so far, in dealings with many residents' groups.
In Bootle, Merseyside, campaigners are currently preparing to challenge the latest CPO decision in the High Court. The case affects upwards of 200 Victorian homes in an area designated by planners as "architecturally significant".
Questions about consultation are met with weary bitterness.
One member of the residents' group, Neighbours Against Demolition, told how the council's chosen developer, Grimleys, was actually involved in the process - AFTER developing a masterplan for the area. Not exactly objective then.
She said: "They simply put notices up around the area, and anyone who came along to the sessions was consulted. If you didn’t go, you weren’t asked. It was all very half-hearted.
“The official neighbourhood action groups refused to discuss housing and complained it was taking up too much of their time. Sefton Borough Council then set up neighbourhood area panels which again wouldn't talk about regeneration.
"This kind of bureaucracy and extra procedural complications conspired to deny proper consultation. We feel the whole thing has been a foregone conclusion."