What this country’s poorest really need is higher house prices. That's the basis of the government's Housing Renewal Pathfinder schemes – demolishing 400,000 houses across the North of England to build more expensive homes.

The aim of the £500 million housing market renewal Pathfinder programme is to turn whole communities around by improving the quality of private, local authority and registered social landlord housing. This will involve clearing poor quality houses for which there is little or no demand, building attractive, good quality new homes, and upgrading existing home to push up their market value.' (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Feb 2004)[1]

So this means housing market renewal, of course, rather than the renewal or renovation of existing homes. In the 1980s the Tories brought in laws to put far higher tax on repairs than new build, and so far Labour has been happy to stick with them.[2]

Who else is happy with the Pathfinder schemes? The constructiuon companies, for one -- 'Housebuilders have welcomed the programme as a means of maintaining their output'[3] Well known firms such as Bellway Homes (responsible for many other socially and environmentally 'contentious' schemes[4]) are being brought in by the government to build the new private houses. The other main winners are the companies that usually follow regeneration gravy trains – consultants, accountants and 'ousourcers' such as Capita, the infamous privatisation junkie and PFI contractor.[5]

Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are also in on the act. The fluffy, family-oriented term actually conceals a range of (private) housing associations and companies which are registered with the Housing Corporation and pay no shareholder dividend. Many of them are involved in the government's transfers of council housing stock, and they are equally happy to be part of various Pathfinder schemes, shuffling out their tenants to make way for the demolitions.[6]

[pull quote] 'They completely forget that they are totally smashing community interest, and the essential assets of an existing area.' Anne Power, Professor of Social Policy at the LondonSchool of Economics[7]

And it's the demolitions that are causing the most concern – with one of the scheme's founders fearing a 'social upheaval' like that which accompanied the 1960-70s slum clearances.[8] Pathfinder schemes will demolish 400,000 houses, and may thus involve the eviction of thousands of families, mostly private and RSL tenants, and also home owners. They are suffering now, and the tenants and home buyers of the future will suffer later, due to the increased prices and dearth of social housing. The housing charity, Shelter, has estimated that 167,000 currently affordable homes will be demolished and 'thousands of families may be pushed out of buying or privately renting their home which could have contributed to homelessness rising twice as fast in the north of England than in the south.'[9]

Turn to pages 6 and 7 to find out more about communities organising against Pathfinder schemes.

References
[1] 'Market renewal pathfinders', Office Deputy Prime Minister, 2 February 2004, www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_communities/documents/page/odpm_comm_027130.hcsp

[2] 17.5% tax on refurbishment; 0% on new building; 'Hot Tax Potato', Bill Hodgson, 16 Jan 2005, Master Builder, www.fmb.org.uk/publications/masterbuilder/january01/18.asp

[3] Doug Morrison, 'Government housing policy needs “urgent review”' Property Week, January 15, 2005

[4] Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts (www.veggies.org.uk/sherwood/) and Jericho, Oxford, (http://pstalker.com/echo/f_56d.html) to name two sites.

[5] UNISON, Companies Update - June 2004, www.unison.org.uk/bargaining/doc_view.asp?did=1371

[6] Mike Lane, 'The Liverpool Kensington £62m New Deal for Communities bandwagon roles on,' August 2004, www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/liverpool/2004/08/295694.html

[7] Transcript of 'File on 4 – Urban Regeneration', 8 March 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/08_03_05_regeneration.pdf

[8] Professor Brendan Niven, in 'Poor people skills threaten urban renewal', 8 March, 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/4327431.stm

[9] 'Regeneration programmes contributing to fastest homelessness increase in the North, warns Shelter', 10 December 2004 http://england.shelter.org.uk/home/home-624.cfm/pressreleaselisting/1/pressrelease/125/