Liverpool council is to hold an inquiry into the failure of a 拢170m redevelopment plan.
Executive member for housing Richard Kemp said the council had made mistakes over the redevelopment of 1500 defective, prefabricated, houses in the Norris Green area.

The council had hoped the scheme would get Millennium Village status but it has now stalled (HT 5 December, page 7).

Kemp said the investigation would look into procedures and recommend better procurement methods. Rising land values, a central issue in the stalled redevelopment, will also feature in the investigation.

Findings will be shared with other market renewal pathfinder authorities, since they are likely to face similar problems.

Kemp said: "We will be undertaking more and more procurement. We want a full evaluation of this so we can learn lessons and get better each time."

The inquiry will look into procurement methods. We want a full evaluation so we can get better

Richard Kemp, executive member for housing, Liverpool council

He insisted that all tenants who wanted to return to the estate would be housed.

The council bowed to opposition calls for an investigation after 300 residents attended a meeting on the issue. On Monday, Kemp met tenants' representatives and council opposition housing spokeswoman Rose Bailey to discuss the first phase of redevelopment 鈥� a 260-home project set to start in February.

Doubt remains over the partnership of council, RSL Liverpool Housing Trust and private firm Bishop Loch Homes. LHT is certain to go ahead with its share of 60 homes, but it emerged last week that Bishop Loch may pull out of the deal.

Kemp said other developers were "queueing up" to join the project. But if Bishop Loch does drop out, the exercise would have to be re-tendered, causing delays.

Source

Housing Today