Fight to hang on to houses renewal cash

A HOUSING regeneration scheme could be stopped in its tracks by hard-hitting government cuts.

The Housing Market Renewal programme, which has already seen refurbishment and demolition of properties in Derker and Werneth, could see its budget cut by £50 million after Chancellor George Osbourne demanded the Homes and Communities Agency cut spending by £230 million.

Alastair Graham, director for the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, said: “The proposal to reduce the HMR budget is extremely disappointing.

“There is a six-week consultation period, which we will be using to make the best case possible to protect investment in Oldham and Rochdale.

“We will also start to look at how we can incorporate these potential cuts into our plans in order to minimise the impact on local people and their neighbourhoods.”

The Pathfinder project was set up in Oldham and Rochdale by the Labour Government in 2004 to tackle long-standing problems which have caused neighbourhoods across the borough to become less popular places to live.

The plan was to bring more than £2 billion of investment to the two towns, refurbishing some houses and demolishing others as part of a programme running until 2020.

Staff now have six weeks to convince finance chiefs to retain their current funding before the emergency budget is announced on June 22.

Mr Osbourne announced £6.2 billion of cuts last month shortly after the Tory-Liberal Democrats coalition came to power.

Government quangos — including the Homes and Communities Agency — have been among the biggest losers.

There are 10 Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders in the North and Midlands. It is not clear how the proposed £50 million of cuts would be split between the Pathfinders if they go ahead.

The budget for the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal is currently £27,956,000 for 2010-11.