Examination of Witnesses (Questions 537
- 539)
WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2000
BARONESS DEAN
OF THORNTON-LE-FYLDE
AND MR
SIMON DOW
Chairman
537. Welcome to the Committee. Can I ask you
to identify yourselves for the record?
(Baroness Dean of Thornton-Le-Fylde) Brenda Dean,
chairman of the Housing Corporation. On my left is Simon Dow,
our acting chief executive.
538. Do you want to say anything in addition
to your memorandum?
(Baroness Dean of Thornton-Le-Fylde) Your colleagues
and you will probably appreciate spending the time asking us what
you want to ask us, rather than me taking your time by making
an opening statement.
Chairman: Thank you very much.
Mrs Ellman
539. How do you see the role of the Urban Priority
Areas and Urban Regeneration Companies?
(Baroness Dean of Thornton-Le-Fylde)
On the Urban Regeneration Companies, we see them very much locally
based. We see the local communities being involved and of course
the involvement of the residents in the area being absolutely
crucial. It is a way of bringing in various pockets of money which
may be available to actually look at strategic development in
the whole area. We certainly welcome that and there are a number
of areas up and down the country which we are talking to at the
moment which are taking that off the ground. Certainly we see
the Urban Task Force work and the whole area of that policy being
more regionally based, and the Urban Regeneration Companies being
locally based, but the two actually working quite closely together.
You may have in a particularly deprived area perhaps a largish
housing association—or RSLs as you probably refer to them
now—which may have the resources and the funds and the strategies
to leave that and to actually set up that company and bring in
other partners, so we see that as a very positive contribution
for the future.
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