Cllr Steve Radford

Leader Liberal Party Group ,Member Housing Scrutiny Committee

41 Sutton Street, Tuebrook

Liverpool ,L13 7EG

0151 259 5935

Dear Editor

 We must congratulate one of your newest staff, David Bartlett, on a excellent case of investigative journalism that gives the Daily Post its qualitative credibility

 David Bartlett has brought out into the open the shortage of affordable housing and the low earnings levels in Merseyside that means for so many home purchase is no longer an option.

 The key quote from his article we should all consider with alarm was

"Data from The Mersey Partnership, the region's investment and tourism body, shows the average wage was £15,468 in 2002.

While salaries have risen by 16.5% on average to £18,025, house prices in the region have soared by 82%."

 At the Housing Committee this is further evidenced that the combined city council housing association waiting list has risen from 7,500 families to 18,500 families in three years alone

 However ,we believe David was being deliberately misled when it was put Pathfinder was helping to create more affordable housing.

 The facts are in this current three years 4000 families will be displaced from current housing and dropped at the head of the current growing public sector waiting list.

Thus increasing demand.

 At the same time over 5000 homes will be demolished.

 In the Anfield sector there will be a 40% reduction in homes built. Throughout the Pathfinder Areas new homes will be fewer for rent than previous, therefore reducing supply of rental sector homes.

 Of the homes for purchase the vast majority will be outside the affordability gap of the former residents forced out

 Of the homes demolished about than 1 in 7 are structurally unsound. Therefore 6 out of 7 could and should have been left standing. In the words of Jane Kennedy MP we are seeing social cleansing across the city.

 In effect, vast amounts of tax payers money are being abused to reduce the supply of private rental and private home owners on the first ladder of the housing market. The result is a disproportionate House Price Inflation in the city creating an unstable market.

 The second impact is to drive up social housing waiting lists to record levels.

 We in the Liberal Party Group challenged Lib Dem Exec Member Marilyn Fielding over the soaring waiting lists, her pie in the sky response was that the situation was running  stable over recent years. (See Housing Committee agenda 27th Sept Agenda Item 10).

 Residents should demand that their taxes cease to be wasted on Pathfinder, which would be better named house crusher.

 Even the simplest student of market economics can understand that if you increase the demand and reduce the supply ,the price of affordable housing will go up.

 That is exactly what is happening and the social democrats of the demolition coalition -Lib dems and Labour refuse to see the obvious consequences of their flawed policies

 Cllr Steve Radford

Leader Liberal Party Group and Member Housing Committee