Regeneration makes 'slow progress'

Attempts to improve run-down areas in the North and the Midlands have met with little success, it has been claimed.

A report from the Commons public accounts committee found that Communities and Local Government (CLG) had failed to engage with local communities when rolling out their £2.2bn Pathfinder programme in areas of low housing demand.

In addition, attempts to turn neighbourhoods into mixed-tenure areas had resulted in many poorer families being priced out of the market.

Committee chairman Edward Leigh said the department had to "foster confidence among local residents, especially where the programme has led to community stress".

"It does not help where demolition plans threaten the distinctive historical character of neighbourhoods," he said.

"The desire of those who wish to continue living in their areas should not be disregarded. Ways need to be found of helping existing residents bridge the gap between the compensation they receive under a compulsory purchase order and the cost of another local property," Leigh said.

Following on from a report from the National Audit Office (NAO), MPs also said that more homes had been demolished than rebuilt during the six years of the programme and MPs warned that demolition sites, rather than new homes, could become the policy legacy.