David Cameron has revealed how he plans to regenerate Britain’s housing estates into welcoming new homes and communities.
Writing in the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister said some of the older estates have isolated and entrapped many families and communities in bleak, high-rise buildings.
“One of the most concerning aspects of these estates is just how cut-off, self-governing and divorced from the mainstream these communities can become,” said David Cameron.
“In some places, there is severe social segregation, and it damages us all when communities simply don’t come into contact with one another.”
In his article, the Prime Minister announced plans to work with 100 housing estates in order to transform them.
He said their first job will be to build a list of post-war estates which are ripe for redevelopment, and work with up to 100,000 residents to put together regeneration plans.
“For some, this will simply mean knocking them down and starting again,” said the Prime Minister.
“For others, it might mean changes to layout, upgrading facilities and improving local road and transport links.
“The panel will also establish a set of binding guarantees for tenants and homeowners so that they are protected.”
To finance this, the Prime Minister said he will establish a new £140m fund that will pump-prime the planning process, temporarily rehouse tenants and publish an Estates Regeneration Strategy to sweep away planning blockages.
“It’s time to be more ambitious on every level,” added David Cameron.
“The mission here is nothing short of social turnaround, and with massive estate regeneration, tenants protected and land unlocked for new housing all over Britain, I believe that together we can tear down anything that stands in our way.”
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