Shafik Meghji,
Regen.net,
10 May 2010
Housing policy in Liverpool is to be overhauled.
Housing policy in Liverpool is to be overhauled after Labour took control of the city council for the first time in 12 years, the authority's new leader has said.
There will be a review of the multi-million pound Housing Market Renewal initiative, proposed house demolitions may be scrapped and a housing select committee will be set up, said councillor Joe Anderson in an interview with the Liverpool Echo.
Anderson insisted the planning process would be speeded up to ensure businesses are able to have pre-planning application meetings within a week, rather than six to seven, as at present. Quarterly investment summits would also be held, he added.
"It is a massive opportunity to move forward to the next level and build on what has been achieved in the past 12 to 14 years due to regeneration and investment," he said. "But we have got to recognise there are huge financial challenges and some difficult decisions to be made."
Labour gained control of the council from the Liberal Democrats in the local elections held last week, the first time the party had been in power in the city since 1998.
Earlier this month, councillor Warren Bradley, then leader of Liverpool City Council, called for local authorities to be given greater powers to borrow money against land assets to enable Housing Market Renewal pathfinders to meet there objectives more quickly.
