I have submitted this as an individual member of Goole Action Group, and a landlord with a property in a street designated for demolition. In addition my home is situated in one of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's (ERYC) designated "Renewal Area".

1.  MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

  1.1  Housing Policies should surely not just be about the provision of bricks and mortar. The fundamental aim must be to build strong, vigorous and sustainable communities, where all members accept equal responsibility for the well being of that community. It must represent a healthy mix of tenancy types, together with a variety of house types and prices. Any interventionist attempts to social cleanse (ie via Pathfinder) or the introduction of tenants into the community with "confirmed" anti-social behaviour by irresponsible housing associations will only serve to disrupt the balance and thereby "kill" that community.

  1.2  Any housing market must represent a fair cross-section of properties, and tenancies. It should be allowed to develop and evolve in line with market forces. Consultation with the community must be carried out on a regular basis. For too long Local Authorities have neglected and starved of investment low cost areas such as Phoenix Street and Richard Cooper Street in Goole, East Yorkshire. Local Authorities (LA's) have for too long had tunnel vision, believing that the occasional introduction of limited housing grants for double glazing, central heating etc is the key to regeneration. LA's have for too long been devoid of any vision and imagination.

  1.3  In the case of Goole, the ERYC believes that in order to regenerate the town they have to demolish 117 Victorian terrace homes, some of the last few reminders of Goole's history, in order to receive government funding, which will allow a paltry reinvestment in the town over a 10-year period. Subsequent so-called consultation events demonstrated that a majority of the community are against demolition (ERYC's own questionnaire showed this to be true). During these events ERYC kept no record of who attended, and even more surprisingly destroyed any notes taken at this event, but yet they (ERYC) continue to believe that demolition is wanted and necessary.

  1.4  In an ideal situation, housing should be about creating communities, where individuals and families can live and grow in vibrant and healthy surroundings, not the creation of select little developments where the cost of the houses means inevitably that owners will be two car working families who leave in the morning and return in the evening, leaving the "community" empty all day. A healthy, responsible community is a benefit; a dysfunctional community is a constant drain on resources.

  1.5  The most cost-effective solution must always be to "sustain" a community, by making it believe that attitudes can change; the environment can be improved for one and all, and that its voice will be heard. In housing, as in many other things in the UK, people feel totally disenfranchised, believing that the democratic process has ground to a halt. Certainly, in our case, the voice of the majority has been overruled in favour of ERYC's big payday!!

  1.6  At the time of writing, there are approximately 300 towns and cities in France subject to rioting. This is a classic example to all who want to take it of what can happen if Government, both National and Local, fail to listen to the community, and subsequently undertakes a housing policy that does not meet the needs of individual communities.

2.  THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF AND SCOPE TO PROMOTE GREATER HOMEOWNERSHIP

  2.1  Greater home ownership is determined by the ability to purchase, and the potential to eventually recoup that investment. Any housing market must provide a wide range of properties and prices, in order to allow a strong progression from the first rung to aspired higher rungs. In Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire Council under the auspices of the Pathfinder scheme is attempting to eliminate this first rung by demolishing 117 extremely well built pre 1900 terrace homes. It will move the starting price of a home in Goole from £50,000 to £70,000, which is a huge increase in a town like Goole where average salaries are in the region of £10,000-£15,000 pa.

  2.2  Demolition, by its very nature of removing housing stock, will drive up the average price thereby increasing the gap to that first rung. Again because of the increase in property values, rental payments will increase, there again making it more and more difficult for the potential first time home buyers to save enough for a deposit to achieve that first rung.

3.  THE EXTENT TO WHICH HOME PURCHASE TACKLES SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES AND REDUCES POVERTY

  3.1  It is doubtful that home ownership does reduce poverty. What is the definition of poverty? Some people have rented for virtually all their life and are very comfortably off, where other people have purchased property and found because of high interest rates, their mortgage payments have increased dramatically, almost to the verge of bankruptcy!

  3.2  Home purchase does not have any effect on social and economic inequalities, people respond to their environments. Residents must be prepared to accept responsibility. Councils must ensure that a framework is in place to enable the environments to be managed by the communities themselves.

4.  THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF CURRENT HOUSE PRICES

  4.1  In Goole, which is one of the lowest priced areas in the country, the housing market was beginning to move after several years of slowly creeping up. Unfortunately, 117 of the houses that have shown the biggest percentage increase in value have been identified by ERYC for demolition—against the wishes of the majority of the residents. ERYC in one stroke have successfully negated any growth potential in this area, and subsequently blight has been placed over these homes and a further 3000 homes, which have been designated as "fragile".

5.  THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOUSE PRICES AND HOUSING SUPPLY

  5.1  Certainly high house prices encourage the building of new properties. But housing supply is not just about new houses; it is a complicated integration of housing types, prices, and tenancy types. The removal or tinkering of one of these variables could have a detrimental effect on the whole supply process. Eg "Pathfinder" by its heavy-handed method of implementation and council led "we know best" policy seeks to social cleanse. From Goole to Liverpool there is a consistency of County Council approach that is extremely worrying for the "man in the street". There seems to be a Government inspired maniacal drive towards the elimination of terrace housing in the North. The reasons for demolition are tenuous in the least and have been discounted by many eminent bodies, but still demolition goes on.

  5.2  There is a demolition at all costs policy, irrespective of the community's wishes. There is a trail of flawed consultation processes right across the M62 corridor. It would appear that democracy has been designated to the "back burner" in the greedy aspirations of the County Councils.

  5.3  There must always be low cost housing, or else where do people start or down size to. A comfortable terrace house is just as important to the elderly as it is to the first time purchaser. The eradication of these homes will raise the age of first time purchasers past 34 (which was cited by HBOS earlier this year).

6.  OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING THE AFFORDABILITY OF HOUSING FOR SALE INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND FISCAL MEASURES

  6.1  Affordability is the ability to buy, which in itself is a variable of income, and supply and demand. Many of the financial problems of today are caused by the over extension of individuals who have no low cost options. They have been forced by a number of factors to buy beyond their means, subsequently, when the economy dips, or they have income related problems they have no room for manoeuvre, and consequently the mortgage lender takes control of the property.

  6.2  Income is dictated by the demand for particular skills. Demand for a wide range of high value skills will only come from an influx of new business/industry. In order to attract the business/industry there has to be a generous and wide ranging supply of housing. Estates of new builds are not the answer. Regenerated and renovated communities are.

7.  THE SCALE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S PLANS TO BOOST HOUSING SUPPLY

  7.1  Disastrous. How can the removal of 117 homes in a town that is short of housing, be good for anyone, especially when there are no plans to replace them. On the one hand (in Goole) we have those homes now blighted by being designated as Fragile (ERYC's Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment Report) which are generally low cost terrace housing (ie starter homes), and on the other hand, we have new builds at £120,000+. Social Cleansing in its worst form—attacking those that can least afford to defend themselves.

8.  THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF PRIVATE HOUSING AS OPPOSED TO SUBSIDISED HOUSING

  8.1  There will always be a case for providing rental accommodation. But as experience has shown in Goole, the performance of the housing associations, at least with regard to the streets identified for demolition has been shown to be poor in relation to the maintenance of their tenancies, and very slow to respond to complaints. Certainly, in the case of Goole there is evidence that Housing Associations have brought in tenants (with a history of anti-social behaviour) from other parts of the East Riding, which over a period of time "forces" people, already in the community, who have previously been very happy, to move out of the area.

9.  HOW THE PLANNING SYSTEM SHOULD RESPOND TO THE DEMAND FOR HOUSING FOR SALE

  9.1  Housing plans should be either good or bad, and not relevant to the demand, otherwise once again you are in danger of "tinkering" with normal demand. The decision to grant or deny planning permission must be geared to the validity of the plans themselves. Just because there may be high demand for homes, plans should not be accepted primarily on this basis. Plans for new homes should always seek to improve the surrounding properties/environment. There should never be any excuse for granting plans that have a detrimental effect on neighbouring properties and environment.

10.  THE SCALE OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED TO INFLUENCE HOUSE PRICES AND THE IMPACT OF PROMOTING SUCH A PROGRAMME ON THE NATURAL AND HISTORICAL ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION

  10.1  Again every area is different, and by its very nature has different requirements. History should never be sacrificed until ALL regeneration options have been examined fairly with ALL interested parties. In the case of Goole, a flawed consultation process resulted in ERYC deciding to demolish 117 good quality homes. As a result the residents will fight and thereby delay the council's decision, probably for many years, thus increasing the ERYC's costs to such a point that costs will become prohibitive.

  10.2  Yet if ERYC had consulted fairly and meaningfully with the community, and renovated instead of opting for demolition the regeneration process could now be starting to work. The feel-good factor would now have been firmly implanted within the community, and the inrush of investment would have been significant. Instead, we now have an area and a town blighted by a decision taken by a body (ERYC Cabinet of nine councillors—none of whom were from Goole) which is so distant from our town not only in miles but in what the community wants, that housing prices have stalled and are in the process of falling back.

  10.3  Any Council can opt for demolition, but it takes a council with a real commitment to Regeneration to adopt regeneration through renovation. It is renovation projects that take the eye and capture the imagination, and therefore attract the publicity, and by their very nature begin to attract inward investment.

11.  THE REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR HOUSING AND HOW THEY MIGHT BE TACKLED

  11.1  Housing tends to follow the economy, with the number of jobs available, salaries paid relative to this economical area. While the majority of the highest paid jobs are located in the South, and the South-east, demand will be highest there, and as prices are in the most case driven by demand, that's where the highest prices will be found. But there are still areas in the North, where people on relatively low salaries aspire to owning their own home. It is this aspiration that Pathfinder is seeking to destroy, by demolishing low cost affordable homes and thereby causing these communities to disintegrate. It is an attempt to socially cleanse communities that have been starved of investment for too long.

  11.2  While it is true, certain areas have been labelled "run down", in the main this is due to years of neglect and lack of investment by the local authorities. With very few exceptions and at substantially lower costs than demolition, these areas could quickly become "very desirable". New "Green field" sites should be abandoned in favour of community led renovation and regeneration projects.