Memorandum by Elevate East Lancashire
(EMP 23)
INTRODUCTION
Elevate East Lancashire is one of the nine pathfinders
charged with finding innovative solutions to the problem of low
demand and housing market failure. It includes the following local
authorities: Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle
and Rossendale. Elevate has responsibility for the Pathfinder
strategy and programme, and managing delivery in partnership with
the local authorities.
BACKGROUND
The urban cores of the East Lancashire towns
suffer from concentrations of low housing demand and abandonment,
contributing to severe social deprivation. This is due to the
interplay of several factors, including long term relative economic
decline and changes in demography. Set in a context of widespread
industrial dereliction and a preponderance of pre-1919 terraced
housing stock, the market has faced some challenging conditions
in recent years.
Much of the terraced housing stock does not
meet modern aspirations and—in many cases—is reaching
the end of its useful life. The concentration of traditional terraced
units means that residents have little housing choice and sometimes
have to move away from the inner urban neighbourhoods to get the
type of house they want.
These problems occur in many neighbourhoods
across the whole sub-region; a much larger area than could be
tackled by local regeneration schemes on traditional lines. Although
group repair and refurbishment schemes have improved some terraces
in the past, their coverage has been relatively small and in some
cases has done little to halt market decline even at the very
local level. Therefore, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's
decision to establish the Housing Market Renewal Fund was warmly
welcomed by partners across East Lancashire.
EARLY PROGRESS
Much progress has been made in the last three
years. In particular, £5 million programme of "early
wins" and subsequent allocation of £68 million for 2004-06
has allowed Elevate and partners to make a meaningful start to
a long-term process of transformational change. Real progress
has been made in delivering projects on the ground and building
the capacity needed to tackle these fundamental issues over the
long term.[17]
Elevate is currently on target to spend all of its allocation
for the current financial year and is drawing up a detailed programme
of activity for future years.
A LONG-TERM
CHALLENGE
Although a positive start has been made, the
scale and complexity of the issues causing low demand and social
deprivation requires intervention over the long-term if we are
to develop truly sustainable communities. Recent research into
housing market trends in the North West demonstrates that the
Elevate area continues to suffer from very low house prices in
relation to the region and the rest of the country, despite the
general increase in prices nationally[18]
It is therefore important to recognise that
Pathfinders and their programmes are at an early stage in the
process of tackling low demand, and that long term support is
required from government if we are to secure transformational
change. Although we appreciate the government's commitment to
this issue, no explicit financial commitment has been entered
into for the long term. This uncertainty poses difficulties for
Pathfinders in framing their long term strategies, and moves to
put this on a firmer footing would be welcome.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Tackling low demand and abandonment is a vital
step on the road to creating a truly sustainable future for the
communities of the Elevate area, and in this context Housing Market
Renewal funding is a critically important catalyst. The creation
of Local Strategic Partnerships and the award of Neighbourhood
Renewal Funds to four of our constituent authorities was a welcome
and important step in the right direction for social renewal in
East Lancashire. However, without sustained investment to reposition
the housing market, tackling the surplus of unpopular housing
types and creating a greater diversity of provision, the urban
neighbourhoods in the area would continue to be blighted by the
scars—both physical and social—of the industrial revolution.
In short, innovative intervention in the housing market is a fundamental
part of neighbourhood renewal in East Lancashire.
Given the complex interplay of factors that
drive deprivation, meaningful holistic action is necessary if
we are to develop a more sustainable future. Interventions in
transport, education and other services must be aligned with economic
and housing strategies to deliver transformational change in the
context of a unique historic and national environment. Therefore,
Elevate is striving to ensure that strategies are integrated across
a range of agendas, with the ultimate goal of re-positioning East
Lancashire in the regional, national and international market.
Elevate is working with colleagues at the Northwest
Development Agency, North West Regional Assembly, Government Office
for the North West and others to align the key structural documents
that will deliver a sustainable future for East Lancashire. Partners
are working together more closely than ever, recognising that
joined up solutions are needed if we are to deliver sustainable
results. However, the separate administrative reporting lines
for the regional spatial, economic and housing strategies pose
complications. We consider that government might usefully review
the relationship between these strategies with a view to better
co-ordinating the timescales for production and establishing common
priorities. Our partners are working constructively to deliver
the most coherent set of strategies possible, but this would be
made more straightforward if common principles were built into
the processes from the beginning.
CONCLUSION
We believe that Housing Market Renewal is an
innovative and necessary response to the particular circumstances
in East Lancashire. Low demand and abandonment are significant
features in the broader problems of social deprivation; they must
be tackled by concerted action across the sub-regional market,
allied to better co-ordination of public services at a local level.
Elevate and its partners have made a constructive start to what
must be a long programme of action, and are keen that the Government
give a clear financial commitment for the long term. We are grateful
for the enthusiastic assistance and co-operation of our partner
organisations and will continue to work closely with them to help
establish Housing Market Renewal firmly within the regional and
national policy context.
17 The attached Annual Report 2004-04 gives
more details about interventions to date. Back
18
Housing Market Trends in the North West, Centre for Urban and
Regional Studies, Birmingham University, August 2004. Back
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