Housing revival programme criticised for leaving a legacy of demolition sites

A government programme to revive housing in depressed areas has been more successful at demolishing homes than building new ones.

The £2.2bn Pathfinder programme is yet to be proven a success and risks leaving a legacy of demolition sites, according to a report by the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee.

More than 40,000 homes have been refurbished as part of the programme, 10,000 have been demolished and 1,000 new homes have been built.

The report warns the 17.5% VAT rate on refurbishment risked encouraging developers to demolish and rebuild rather than refurbish.

The committee said it was “too early to judge the overall success of the programme” which has been funded to continue until 2011.

It was launched in 2002 to revive housing in nine areas in the north of England and the Midlands.