Millions still needed for housing scheme

The Government announced it is awarding £3.3m towards the regeneration scheme at Ings in east Hull, half of what Hull Council bid.

Residents living on the estate have been in limbo since the programme was suspended last October as a result of Government spending cuts and the uncertainty will continue for some time yet.

Coun John Black said the money came nowhere near the hundreds of millions lost when the Goverment axed the schemes or the £20m the council had had to find to help those in the worst conditions.

The bid focused on acquiring and demolishing a further 300 properties, opening up land to deliver a mix of homes for sale and rent, with the potential of a further 700 new-build homes. The plan will now be revisited, but the council will also be lobbying for the rest of the funding.

The £3.3m transition funding will release a further £7.1m in match funding from the council.

Coun Black said: “Whilst we welcome any funding, we are disappointed to not receive the full bid as we now have to again refocus our plan which means a further period of uncertainty for residents in that area.

“We know that after such a long wait for news, residents’ anxiety will now turn to disappointment as it means further uncertainty for some of them.”

The council is now looking for a lead developer in east Hull.

Announcing the extra funding Housing Minister Grant Shapps condemned Labour’s original scheme as a “failure and an abject lesson to policy makers.” He said: “The families in these half-empty ghost streets should not be left desperately hoping for someone to reorder the rubble. That’s why I’ve been able to boost the cash we’re committing to more than £35m - matched by councils to bring the total to £71m.”