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Issue Date: 2 October 2007
Call for sustained funding for market renewal in NewcastleGateshead
Bridging NewcastleGateshead (BNG), the local housing market renewal partnership, has called on the government to sustain the priority of housing market renewal in next month’s Spending Review announcement.
The call came as BNG joined with the ten other housing market renewal partnerships to release a new report called Transition to Transformation One Year On which underlines the continued need for housing market renewal investment. This new report is an update of the original report Transition to Transformation which was published last year and sent to the then Secretary of State Ruth Kelly and other CLG ministers.
BNG is seeking around £100m over the next three years to maintain its progress, and will, through innovative financial partnerships with the private sector, significantly add more investment, and will also work to ensure a share of funds from other bodies such as the Housing Corporation.
Jim Coulter, Chair of Bridging NewcastleGateshead said: “Housing market renewal is unfinished business and in all of the housing market renewal partnership areas we need ongoing support from government to ensure we fulfil promises made to communities. The programme so far has brought back confidence to local areas but our new report shows that population loss in the core areas remains a problem. Despite house price increases, markets are not yet stable and there are growing affordability difficulties.
“Across all the housing market renewal areas, including our own Bridging NewcastleGateshead area, our current plans will deliver major change over the next three years. We are repeating our message to Hazel Blears that we need at least the continuation of the current funding levels in the new Spending Review settlement.”
Leading regeneration expert Brendan Nevin co-authored the new report. He commented: “Our analysis of new data on voids shows that there are still over 150,000 dwellings in neighbourhoods within pathfinders with vacancy rates which are twice the Core Cities average. Pathfinder investment is already focused on these neighbourhoods but there is still much to do to restructure and make them sustainable.”
The report – Transition to Transformation One Year On – has been sent to Hazel Blears and Yvette Cooper as well as CLG officials. The housing market renewal partnership chairs are meeting Hazel Blears on 10 th October to discuss the programme and the new report.
Bridging NewcastleGateshead (BNG) was set up in 2003 and is overseeing an extensive programme of housing market regeneration across parts of NewcastleGateshead. It is involved in areas and projects such as Walker Riverside, the Scotswood Expo, the Scotswood Benwell Area Action Plan and neighbourhood planning in Gateshead. In 2006, BNG was awarded £64m for 2006-2008 by the Government and it will be making its next bid for government funding in the next few months.