Housing minister Grant Shapps has announced £5.5m of additional government funding for areas hit by the government’s cuts to the housing market renewal programme into headlines claiming “£71 million to end the legacy of England’s Ghost Streets“.
In last year’s Comprehensive Spending Review the government axed the £5bn Housing Market Renewal scheme eight years into what was originally envisaged as a 10 to 15-year programme. This resulted tenants being trapped in half-abandoned streets and lanlords had ot abandon 10 year improvement programmes.
In May this year, the government announced that councils in the worst affected arears of Merseyside, East Lancashire, North Staffordshire, Hull and Teesside could bid for a share of a £30m fund.
In response to the bids, the government decided to make an additional £5.5m available, allowing the bidding councils to address problems
in all the streets or blocks where over 50 per cent of homes were vacant, and bringing Whitehall’s contribution to £35.5m. The headline figure of £71m includes match funding from local councils.