Liverpool Labour councillors vetoed £1 house plan in September, before blaze of glory launch this week
LIVERPOOL council has been inundated with interest from across the world about its plan to sell derelict homes for a £1.
But it might not have happened as Labour councillors vetoed the idea when it was put forward by the Liberal Party in September.
Liberal leader Steve Radford has been in touch to point out that his suggestion that the council look into the £1 model pioneered in Stoke be examined, was rejected.
In fact his motion was amended and changed to state: "However, this council also notes that implementing this policy in Liverpool may be challenging, since Liverpool City Council no longer owns any properties which are not already identified in programmes for development or renovation.
"Council places on record its support for the Mayor's Housing pledge, to deliver 5,000 new homes in the city and bring back into use over 1,000 more empty properties, and recognises the challenges faced by the Council in delivering that pledge in difficult economic times especially as Government are withdrawing grant funding for new development.
"Council would like to congratulate the Mayor and the Cabinet Member for Housing for the wide ranging work they have done, and continue to do, in finding innovative and imaginative ways to support new housing development, homesteading and the creation of new, sustainable communities."
The amendment, put forward by cabinet member for housing Ann O'Byrne, was approved with 68 votes in favour and three against.
To be fair to Liverpool council it had already awarded a tender to a developer for the properties it is now intending to sell for a £1 each. The £25m tender was pulled a few weeks later after the company failed to meet deadlines for signing the contract.
But there was no quid pro quo for Cllr Radford when the plan was announced this week.
Now he wants to know if his idea was nicked by the Labour administration, a penny for your thoughts, or should that be a pound?
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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What areas are the houses in ? Are they liveable houses or are they burnt out wrecks ? Hmm interesting. If any in anfield , I'm interested in anfield area. Big house for a pound ! What a good investment. Can I have a blue coloured one because I'm an evertonian ?! - Steve Hughes
This idea is nothing new, Sir Trevor Jones (former Liberal Leader of the Council) did exactly this in the 70's. so please don't think this is something unique to Liverpool (or Stoke). The major concern is the quality of houses being built, the Militants proclaimed they built 100's of houses, sadly quantity is not what we require. Good quality sustainable housing is more important, sadly the Mayors housing policy will leave Liverpool's housing stock in poor condition in 15 or so years. The housing policy needs rethinking, with housing coop's and shared ownership at the core of the thinking, mass social housing will not solve the problems the city has had for many years - to think Liverpool pioneered housing coops in Eldonian village, but have never built on that success.
But you left these very city streets as war zones Warren:
http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/dalestreetblues/war_zones.jpg
And actually, quantity IS what we require, as well as quality. Or didn't you notice the waiting list double as you targeted 18,000 solid terraced homes for the war zone treatment? You signed the CPOs and oversaw this scandal.
Jonathan, sadly you are completely wrong. I inherited the mess that is HMRI, I actively spoke against it whilst a mere Executive Member. You see, I saw first hand the impact of dereliction through my role in the fire service; and as you well know I worked closely with those affected in an attempt to lessen the hurt and destruction that the Labour Government and local authority imposed on communities. Please don't rewrite history, people who were close to me knew exactly my feelings, but sadly the horse had bolted, as they say, and there was very little I could do apart from push for the HMR funding to come through more quickly to rebuild the communities; it is now apparent that much of the promised funding never existed, this was another fairy tale from the previous Government.