200 homes planned, but just 32 delivered

Jun 12 2009 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

FIGURES today reveal the extent of the house-build slowdown. Only 32 additional homes were finished in Newcastle in the last year, against a target of 200.

And that target had already been slashed from 600 due to the recession.

The figures were released in a report to councillors as an independent inspection gave the city council only one star for its regeneration service.

The Audit Commission criticised efforts to transform Walker, Benwell and Scotswood and Elswick, saying the council had been “slow and cumbersome”.

Their report said the council had failed to make sufficient progress in building new houses and narrowing the gap between rich and poor parts of the city.

The Walker regeneration is criticised for the “limited” number of homes and community facilities which have been built, with no shops, despite long-term efforts to plan how to revamp the area.

In Scotswood and Benwell, inspectors say, many houses have been demolished and families rehoused effectively, but no new houses have been built.

Only in Elswick has significant progress been made.