Prescott’s demolition plans under fire
John Prescott’s plans to demolish thousands of Victorian terrace houses across the north of England have been criticised by architect Lord Rodgers.
The Labour peer, formerly the chairman of the urban taskforce established by the Deputy Prime Minister in 1997, has told The Daily Telegraph of his concern over the plans to clear up to 400,000 homes in cities such as Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool.
In an interview with the paper, Lord Rogers insists that large-scale demolition was not an option adopted by the task force when it published its vision for urban renewal, entitled Towards an Urban Renaissance.
The Telegraph claims that the document, which gained cross-party support, laid the foundations for Mr Prescott’s regeneration and house building strategy.
“We recommended very strongly that you should first of all conserve existing buildings wherever possible, for they are part of our history and create a spirit of place,” said Lord Rodgers, expressing concern about the demolition plans.
“If we can use buildings which already exist, that strengthens the concept of the urban renaissance, the liveable city.
“After seven years we still do not have a development that we can be proud of,” he added.
Some commentators have said that the Deputy Prime Minister’s demolition plans compare to the slum clearance programme of the 1960s.
In a report published last month, English Heritage said that the cost of repairing a Victorian terrace house over 30 years was up to 60 per cent cheaper than new building.
The Government has previously insisted that the number of homes to be abolished on Merseyside will be greatly outnumbered by those that will be restored or built.
