Hope for dying housing estates

What can be done with the rows of houses that lie empty in towns and cities across the north of England? They were built for the working classes who walked to work in nearby factories, but they have become prisons for owners who have seen their homes’ value fall as social problems have increased.

The traditional approach has been to demolish such areas and start again,. But an alternative approach among housing experts is to sell the properties for next to nothing, in the hope that a new wave of owners will improve the area, helped by public spending.

In one such scheme, 10 pairs of flats in North Benwell, Newcastle, were put on the market for 50 pence each. After demolishing hundreds of local houses, Newcastle city council hoped the sale would help to transform the environment for the remaining 1,300 homes. Two years later, it looks as though the scheme may be working.

There were more than 100 potential buyers for the flats, even though they had to promise to spend ₤12,000 on converting each pair of flats into five-bedroom family homes.

English Language

Pre-Intermediate (2 year)

Card 9

I.