Liverpool seeks £10.5m to tackle tinned-up streets

LIVERPOOL City Council is seeking £10.5m from the Government to help it complete regeneration schemes that have stalled with the end of the Housing Market Renewal (HMR) programme.

HMR, introduced by the Labour Government from 2003, sought to address housing market failure in nine urban areas across the North.

The idea was to demolish some properties and attract new residents with a mixture of new build and refurbishment. But many areas were not completed and funding has now been withdrawn with some residents stranded in derelict streets.

Liverpool has identified five areas that will qualify for cash from a £30m pot because they are less than 10% occupied and classified as “severely derelict”. These are: Anfield Breckfield phases 3-5; Easby Estate phases 1-5; Welsh Streets phases 1-2; Edge Hill phases 1-3; and Picton phases 1-3.

The council expects the total cost of acquiring the remaining properties, demolition and preparation to reach £21.6m.

“This is clearly a sustainable long term exit strategy which meets all the objectives of the transition fund as well as providing new homes and communities and levering in considerable private sector investment,” said a council report.

But three other HMR sites – Anfield Breckfield phase 6-7 and Welsh Streets phase 3 – will not qualify for the funding because they are  more than 50% occupied. Costs here are predicted to be £33.7m. “Solutions other than transition funding will be looked at to complete their regeneration,” said the council.

Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for housing and community safety, councillor Ann O’Byrne, said: “It’s absolutely vital that we continue to fight for any funding we can get for housing renewal in this city. We need to keep pressure on the government, identify new funding sources, work with communities and private partners and make positive decisions for the areas which need it the most.

“The scrapping of HMR funding was a huge, huge blow to this city, and even if we are successful in securing this funding, it will be a drop in the ocean compared to what we have lost. The narrow criteria also meant there were a number of areas in the city not eligible for this funding. But I want to reassure those residents not included in this bid that we will continue to work tirelessly to secure funding from other sources.

“There are many challenges ahead, but this bid for transition funding reaffirms our commitment to do everything we can to improve life our most vulnerable residents, and forms part of our wider plans to drive forward housing renewal in this city.”