Housing Funding A Welcome Boost (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

Housing Funding A Welcome Boost

January 24, 2005 10:17 PM

Local Lib Dem Councillors have welcomed plans for a multi-million pound housing regeneration project for East Leeds. The Regional Housing Board has considered proposals put forward by the West Yorkshire sub?regional partnership that will see East Leeds get a £4.9m funding boost over three years. The project will be overseen through a developing partnership entitled to'gether which includes members of the Council's East Leeds Area Management team.

Councillor David Hollingsworth (Lib Dem, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill) said: "This much needed money has been given to improve housing in Cross Green and East End Park."

Councillor Pryke (Lib Dem, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill) commented:

"Housing needs in the East Leeds area has been ignored for years, this is great news"

Councillor Brett added (Lib Dem, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill) added: "We want the local community to tell us their ideas through the new to'gether project."

A representative Steering Group will hold an inaugural meeting next month (February) to begin considerations on how best to allocate funds which allow for £500K to be spent in Cross Green and East End Park between April 2005 and March 2006 with Regional Housing Board approval. Initiatives considered will range from refurbishment through to demolition and new builds and will involve both a private and public sector partnership.

The balance of the £4.9m will be allocated by the Regional Housing Board over the following two years.

The to'gether' partnership formed in the summer of last year (2004) as a collaborative initiative between all the local agencies with the resources

to improve an area, including the police, Council and health services. It

is led by the regeneration organisation, 're'new' and the Council's East Area Management Team and has pledged to push forward inter-agency solutions to the causes of the problems as seen through the eyes of the local community, rather than working in distanced isolation and handling only the consequences.

Already over 400 local people have signed up to the Richmond Hill Residents Network ? a spin-off of the to'gether partnership ? to register their willingness to identify what is going wrong and help to bring about change.