Distribution of £1bn funding for Housing Market Renewal Programme announced

Published	28 February 2008

The Government has announced today the regional distribution of more than £1bn to revitalise the housing market in key areas and restore stable communities.

Up to £54m a year will be made available to each of the twelve 'Pathfinder' areas over the next three years, under the housing market renewal programme. Merseyside, East Lancashire, Manchester Salford, South Yorkshire and North Staffordshire are each set to receive more than £100m over the three years. This will fund further progress towards restoring stable communities and re-connecting housing markets with their regions.

Housing Minister Iain Wright said:

"The Housing Market Renewal Programme has been vital for restoring confidence in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country. This substantial funding, together with increasing investment from the private sector and support from local authorities and others, will help the market renewal areas take forward their ambitious programmes to bring real change to places which only five years ago were facing decline and abandonment.

"This is a long-term programme, and there is still much work to do. The Pathfinder scheme has already made great progress in these areas, and this money will help bridge the gaps that still remain."

Notes to editors

1. The Housing Market Renewal programme was established in 2002 to tackle problems of housing market failure, where prices had often collapsed and areas were facing widespread abandonment. The £1.2bn invested to date has helped fund the refurbishment of more than 40,000 houses, the demolition of around 10,000 properties, and the construction of 1,100 new homes. Other important achievements have been to bring local authorities together to work across boundaries to tackle market failure at a sub-regional level rather than individually; and to encourage and build private sector interest and investment.

2. The new allocation of funding will be:

**Proposed distribution across individual years**
Pathfinder	Total allocation	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Birmingham Sandwell	53	25	17	11
East Lancashire	150	52	50	48
Hull and East Riding	87	30	29	28
Manchester Salford	140	52	46	42
Merseyside	152	54	51	47
Newcastle Gateshead	95	34	32	29
North Staffordshire	114	40	38	36
Oldham Rochdale	90	32	30	28
South Yorkshire	116	46	39	31
Tees Valley	35	13	12	10
West Cumbria	6	3	2	1
Total	1038	381	346	311

Note: The allocation for South Yorkshire includes an allocation of £12m over the three years for HMR activity in the South East Wakefield housing market area of West Yorkshire.

3. Figures for Year 2008-09 are firm commitments, while figures for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are indicative, and may change up or down 10 per cent subject to a number of factors, including progress in working with the new Homes and Communities Agency; progress in making links with growth initiatives where relevant; and future changes in local markets.

4. Allocations have been based on a variety of material, including business plans prepared by the housing market renewal areas; house price and performance data; and reports on past performance and future need prepared by the Audit Commission (copies of these reports are available on the Audit Commission's website).

5. Nine pathfinders were selected for the initial programme: Birmingham/Sandwell; East Lancashire; Hull and East Riding; Manchester/Salford; Merseyside; Oldham/Rochdale; Newcastle/Gateshead; North Staffordshire; and South Yorkshire. Three areas of wider low demand were added in 2005: Tees Valley; West Cumbria and West Yorkshire.

6. Overall, house prices across the pathfinders have been rising. As a recent study by the National Audit Office found, all pathfinders have succeeded in closing the gaps in prices with their regions, and housing markets in local authorities chosen for the programme have, on the whole, performed better than housing markets in local authorities with the most similar problems of low demand not included.