£145,000 homes face Prescott's bulldozers

[emad]

£145,000 homes face Prescott's bulldozers
By Tom Reilly
(Filed: 26/09/2005)

Plans to regenerate large parts of northern England have been criticised after it emerged that homes valued at £145,000 are being bought for demolition.

A street of three-storey Victorian terrace homes has become the latest battleground in John Prescott's controversial Pathfinder scheme after it was identified as the most expensive street earmarked for redevelopment. The Deputy Prime Minister's project aims to replace redundant housing with new accommodation.

Properties on Kelvin Grove, in Toxteth, Liverpool, valued at up to £145,000 each, are to be pulled down. The Government has already used taxpayers' money to buy £80,000 houses in nearby Bootle, but the plans to purchase more expensive properties will lead to questions about the financial viability of the scheme.

It is estimated that buying the 22 houses on Kelvin Grove could cost £3.5 million, even before demolition costs are taken into account.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/26/ndemo26.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/26/ixhome.html

[sam sarrha]

1. speak English.. what the hell are they doing, and why for

[tjwmason]

2. It is in English - perhaps English written for English people

rather than Americans.

The Deputy Prime Minister (John Prescott) has an insane plan for dealing with Britain's twin housing problems (massive shortage in the S.E., excess supply elsewhere). The one half consists of forcing vast numbers of new houses to be built over the few remaining parts of countryside around London; the other involves the compulsary purchase of houses elsewhere, and their demolition.

Clearly a house worth £145,000 (about $280,000) is not one suffering from a complete lack of demand, it also makes the scheme incredibly expensive.

[sam sarrha]

6. sounds just stupid

[fedsron2us]

3. Interesting that they chose the name Pathfinder

In my mind that word is always associated with the flattening of German cities in World War II by area bombing.

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/bombercommand/pathfinderraids.aspx

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. It seems 'New' has gone to New Labour's head

Anything dating from Victorian or Edwardian times (such as the original Labour Party) must be out of date and in need of demolition, in their view.

[fedsron2us]

5. Blair's triumph in 1997 is Year Zero for New Labour

Nothing built before that date counts.