This week the influential Public Accounts Committee condemed the government Pathfinder housing programme as much better at demolishing homes than building communities.
Labour MP for Newcastle Central Jim Cousins said: "The housing market renewal programmes have been a spectacular waste of money". The committee came to the conclusion that "it was difficult to determine if improvements in housing demand in pathfinder areas were due to the scheme or normal market operation".
This largely supports the view taken by the National Audit Office who reported last year. The NAO report report found that it was difficult to determine whether any benefit had occurred because of the expenditure on demolition.
The MPs views were not supported by Councillor John Shipley, Lib Dem Leader of Newcastle City Council. This may be because the Labour vote in Newcastle has been reduced in key wards where demolition has targetted the poor communities who are likely to vote Labour.
Meanwhile over in Gateshead the supporters of demolition are the Labour Leader and Deputy Leader of Gateshead Council along with Labour MP David Clelland. All of whom have become cheerleaders for mass demolition.
Thus where demolishing poor working class communities are concerned there is a bizarre Lib-Lab pact across Newcastle and Gateshead. Councillor Shipley must have an occasional smile when he reminds himself that Newcastle Labour Party were cheerleaders for demolition and destroyed their own electoral base.
Link
The Newcastle Journal
0 comments:
Post a Comment