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Labour rejects Tory house demolition claims
10/09/2007
The government has been accused by the Conservatives of forcing councils in Greater Manchester to demolish homes in return for grants under the Pathfinder scheme.
According to the Tories, ministers are "forcing" the demolitions of family homes by threatening to cut the funding of local authorities which don't knock down enough homes, a claim that was robustly denied by the government.
Under the Pathfinder scheme, councils in Manchester, Salford, Rochdale and Oldham receive government funding for the regeneration of rundown communities.
"It is fundamentally wrong that councils are being compelled to let rip with the wrecking ball, irrespective of local views just to receive government handouts," said Alistair Burt, communities spokesman for the Tories.
"The sheer scale of these demolitions - including Victorian terraces - is environmentally, socially and financially wasteful."
But the Communities and Local Government department dismissed the claims as "codswallop", saying that councils set their own targets and have actually been rewarded for reducing the number of demolitions.
A government spokesman pointed out that less than one per cent of homes in Pathfinder areas have been reduced to rubble.
Between 2003 and 2006, £115 million of government money was invested in the Manchester and Salford housing markets.
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