[g jones]

There are 2,000 empty houses out of 35,000. We have been building houses at a rate of several hundred a year because The Council wanted new build, wanted regeneration, people wanted aspirational homes. Ones built of red brick that come with a glossy lifestyle brochure.

We have not been bulldozing houses at anywhere near that rate over this period. In fact for many years we cleared no houses despite the fact we were building them. Given the census from 1991 to 2001 (In Burnley the population has fallen significantly enhancing the problem there) has shown little or no increase we have ended up with an oversupply.

Around 65% of the housing stock was terraced. Such a high proportion, plus people's desire for nice new red brick ones with gardens, plus people's desire to get out of the inner urban areas and locate on this peripheral new estates has resulted in significant empties in the inner urban areas.

For 20 years to this day (and still) we are not managing our housing stock or taking a firm stance on developers as to their social responsibility for this oversupply.

The Government have given us £millions (not a penny from the Council) to remove this surplus housing stock. However it is not enough. Approximately 800 houses out of the 2000 will be demolished but with the rampant resupply of new houses the problem will carry on and on.

The powers that be (at the Council - the ones we elected) proclaim that because house prices have risen in area (Princes St area), the over supply is cured and demand has risen. But from where has the new demand come from???? And of course property speculation has caused rising prices. Both local (regeneration) and national (economic).

The Council are failing totally to understand the circumstances and therefore can't find the solutions but in the meantime are spending £millions looking for them. Part of the problem is Tories who see new build on the edge of as a philosophically desirable goal.