house crusher
This letter was published in this week's Big Issue in the North:
Response to Cllr Fielding [Liverpool Council's executive member for housing] on House Crusher - from a fellow councillor.
Firstly a big thank you to the Big Issue for raising the whole debate over Pathfinder - a scheme we would more aptly have called House Crusher.
Cllr Fielding says the council needs long term investment, sounds good but what mindless state planners throughout history show is the utter inability of the bureaucratic sausage machine to take account of market forces changing
Firstly a big thank you to the Big Issue for raising the whole debate over Pathfinder - a scheme we would more aptly have called House Crusher.
Cllr Fielding says the council needs long term investment, sounds good but what mindless state planners throughout history show is the utter inability of the bureaucratic sausage machine to take account of market forces changing
Yes over the last four years many terraced areas of the city have seen 155% increases in house prices. Evidence of market failure we think not!
Recently we in The Liberal Party Group forced the lumbering Council housing department to put up for sale dozens of long term vacant properties. Within days we were inundated with local families wanting to buy and develop them. The housing market Renewal policy is more about restricting market forces, blighting areas and squeezing out real competition - nothing Liberal about our Lib Dems
These increases are not restricted to areas of House Crusher but throughout the city.
Liverpool has instead soaring house inflation out of proportion of the changes in wages.
Yes , House crusher is driving up prices by reducing supply of affordable housing, at the same time the council waiting lists are soaring to record heights. 24,000 on the last property pool list headcount!
Cllr Fielding refers to herself as a local councillor, she skillfully avoids mentioning that her own County ward does not have to suffer from House Crusher demolitions
As for the wards which have had the brunt of house crusher so far, both Princess Park and Kensington Ward were recent LIb DEm losses to the Labour.
House crusher/pathfinder is so popular that voters have slung out the ruling party were people have suffered the outcome.
Cllr Fielding says there has been extensive consultation , in that she is correct. However those results have been cynically manipulated.
Residents frequently have said yes to selective demolition of unsound property, that has been twisted to justify whole scale demolition of areas where between 75% and 85% of the homes are structurally sound.
Who benefits , the effective monopoly of four national house building companies, at the exclusion of small local builders
The Joseph Rowntree research shows that people are effectively losing out by 30,00 when trying to0 pay for replacement homes. Whilst owner occupiers are being penalised.
Most of the demolition areas are housing association stock, in effect the taxpayer is expected to fork out millions to fund housing associations who have failed to maintain or upgrade their properties
Recently we in The Liberal Party Group forced the lumbering Council housing department to put up for sale dozens of long term vacant properties. Within days we were inundated with local families wanting to buy and develop them. The housing market Renewal policy is more about restricting market forces, blighting areas and squeezing out real competition - nothing Liberal about our Lib Dems
These increases are not restricted to areas of House Crusher but throughout the city.
Liverpool has instead soaring house inflation out of proportion of the changes in wages.
Yes , House crusher is driving up prices by reducing supply of affordable housing, at the same time the council waiting lists are soaring to record heights. 24,000 on the last property pool list headcount!
Cllr Fielding refers to herself as a local councillor, she skillfully avoids mentioning that her own County ward does not have to suffer from House Crusher demolitions
As for the wards which have had the brunt of house crusher so far, both Princess Park and Kensington Ward were recent LIb DEm losses to the Labour.
House crusher/pathfinder is so popular that voters have slung out the ruling party were people have suffered the outcome.
Cllr Fielding says there has been extensive consultation , in that she is correct. However those results have been cynically manipulated.
Residents frequently have said yes to selective demolition of unsound property, that has been twisted to justify whole scale demolition of areas where between 75% and 85% of the homes are structurally sound.
Who benefits , the effective monopoly of four national house building companies, at the exclusion of small local builders
The Joseph Rowntree research shows that people are effectively losing out by 30,00 when trying to0 pay for replacement homes. Whilst owner occupiers are being penalised.
Most of the demolition areas are housing association stock, in effect the taxpayer is expected to fork out millions to fund housing associations who have failed to maintain or upgrade their properties
Cllr Steve Radford
Leader of the Liberal Party Group
PS If Cllr Fielding is so pleased at the project I challenge her to extend the demolition programme to her own ward. Lastly the sad thing is that Labour are equally signed up as equal partners in the demolition coalition.