26/02/2012 Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria

And in the North East and Cumbria - one third of shops are empty in

some of our town centres. Are they in terminal decline or can

we breathe new life into our neglected High Streets? That's at

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2027 seconds

Hello and a warm welcome to your local part of the show.

Coming up - 46,000 houses and flats in the North East and Cumbria are

standing empty. What will it take to bring them back into use?

And here in the studio, talking housing, High Streets and the

latest council cuts are my guests, the Easington MP Grahame Morris and

Yorkshire Euro-MP Timothy Kirkhope. Firstly. Are our High Streets in

terminal decline? Well, walk around Stockton and you will find one

quarter of all the shops there are empty.

It is not much better in Hartlepool or Sunderland.

Retail expert Mary Portas says our High Streets are failing. But she

believes there is potential to reinvent them with cheaper town

centre parking, more open-air markets and fewer regulations on

traders. Now the government is offering a

share of �1 million for towns that want to transform their high

streets. They bought in West Cumbria. With its heritage, the

town has plenty of tourist attractions, but the town has seen

better days. Below it rather run- down and tired. We used to have a

gentleman's outfitters, a dress shop a hat shop and a lot of little

bakers and things like that. There used to be a Woolworths. They were

roll replaced by pounds shops and charity shops or are now lying

empty. The local Bowl shop has been trading in the same location for 60

years and she thinks it will take more than any Cover to save the

highest rate. It is all about boosting up the local economy. He

need to have jobs in the area, so that people have money to spend.

But town is hoping to get a part of this grant from the retail scheme

suggested by a Mary Porter us. It would be absolutely fantastic for

the town to win this bed. It would really work. If people would listen

and take not and do what we're told, basically. The figure as making

clear something has to be done. Nearly one-third of the shops here

are empty, making it one of the worst places in Cumbria. Stockton

has a quarter of the shops lying empty and the pictures only

slightly better in Sunderland and Gateshead. For a many, they keep

reason the highest rate is feeling is the unstoppable rise of out-of-

town shopping. They believe the massive supermarkets, with their

free parking and cheaper prices are simply unstoppable. You simply have

to stop out-of-town developments happening it unless there is

special developments, you have to make sure there is local parking

available and you have to simply have to do it. There is not when

just saying that the market will simply gawp. Day be feels there is

a future, but feels a winning the bed would be a big boost for the

town. Well, it is not just traders who

are losing out. Many of our local authorities own shops and shopping

centres which they rent out. In Newcastle, for example, the council

owns some 250 retail premises. While in Carlisle, the city council

owns the Lanes Shopping Centre. Income is down �277,000 pounds a

year. It is not meeting the expectations, but I think in coming

years at will. We have a duty of care to the customers of Carlisle

and tourists to make sure that this place can continues as it is and

improves. Let us talk about this plan to rate regenerate the high

streets. When I very much welcome the report and the recommendations

and it, I do think that in this sense it is the sticking plaster on

a major heart attack, because the real problem is the general

economic conditions. In Seaforth for example, there was 1,000 job

losses and the increase in value added tax also counts. But a cannot

surely be recent economic conditions solely to blame? I think

the coalition government has the obligation here. They said they

were going to bring any level playing field between the larger

retailers and the smaller retailers. The general economic policy, not

least the increase in value added tax, has had a catastrophic effect

on purchasing power by highest rate shops. Now, we heard about out of

town shopping centres, supermarkets. Well, there is our between

retailers, and that does not matter whether they are big or small. We

do want to take on some of the recommendations. In any town centre,

�100,000 a surely not small beer? My will, not a tall, but what I

would like to see is an extension of this, we need to look at

planning laws. If you want to build a supermarket somewhere, perhaps

you need to be doing something to do something back into the local

town. One of the critics of the planning policy would say that

you're making it harder to fight out of town shopping developments?

My all, not at all. When you're involved in doing this, we all of

us have a responsibility for this, it is not simply that government

has to say this, we have to make it attractive for people to actually

stay within towns, with an their main streets, within the rural area

as well as the supermarkets. We or this they cannot recreate the high

streets of the 1960s, but is it simply money getting pushed at this

that will solve the problem? Labour Party has come up with the

four-point plan and an initiative for empty shops, where by these

decrepit looking France would not be seen. Is that not a bit like the

sticking plaster? No, we're talking about using these premises for

other uses, such as learning centres and the likes of that.

certainly think keeping shops open is very important and we are

certainly looking at rates and things like that to give breaks for

places that are in difficulties. More than 100,000 people are stuck

on the waiting list for social housing in the North East and

Cumbria. And the government wants to do something about it with its

new Affordable Homes Programme. Yet critics say the level of funding

falls well short of what is needed. We will be talking about that in a

moment. But first, what about another solution - filling some of

the thousands of homes standing empty? They read decade, derelict

and abandoned this is part of Newcastle's Byker estate. Now it is

home again, with people moving in again a few weeks ago. I was just

laughing all the time. People were staring at me! I just love the

place. Some under his police to get a home at a price she can afford.

To be able to get a new place at the price we are renting is

virtually impossible. The says the success story of a empty house been

restored and put to use. But it is in the minority. There are 46,000

empty private premises in the North East. Bringing them back into use

is the priority. There are virtually no empty council houses.

That is a real challenge. We have got 9,000 people on our waiting

list, 300 of these on priority need. But we want to bring back empty

properties into use in this is an ideal example found we have been

able to G do that. Well, let us talk now to Monica

Burns from the National Housing Federation in the North East, which

represents housing associations. Now, what else has been going on

As you said in your report, a lot of these houses are privately

warned that summer and in any area where there is little demand for

housing, others have been handed down to children, who have decided

not to sell. There is an array of different reasons as to why the RMT.

So what can be done about this, particularly the house is in

private hands? Well, the local authorities are doing a lot to see

if they can pick these houses back into use. It is a matter of looking

at each individual case and seen what can be done. The alternative

is of course building new affordable housing. They have set

very ambitious targets - are they going to happen? We are doing well,

but we have had the huge decrease in the grant allowance. It has been

cut by nearly two thirds and a one allocation for the next four years

is �45 million and with that we're meant to build 3,000 homes. They

have said you can go up the 80 % of the rent and value? Will that be

helpful? Not particularly. The Raleigh in some areas we can do

that. We would like to see a lot of different ideas Brotton. Timothy,

the government talks a good game about this. But the figures say

that this is the lowest number of homes actually built since the

second world war. A I do think you build houses are very important. So

why are they not happening? We will, we have a lot of economic problems

at the moment. But what about these budget cuts? The empty properties

in England, that is an awful lot of properties. They are being built,

but not being properly utilised. I think that is the priority. Apart

from you build houses, it is important that these houses get

renovated and occupied. As it said, where they are located is often

important. The trouble is that there are often in places where

people do not want to live, which is part of the problem. But surely

cutting the funding is not going to help? He yes, I appreciate that. We

know what we could not pay as much as we used to. Bobby a pity a lot

of money into the new homes bonus. We are going to try and help local

government in particular to bring housing stock back into use and I

think that is the sensible approach. The Labour Party record on this it

was very poor at as well? Yes, the labours record on this left a lot

to be desired, but the coalition government have not dealt with us

at all. There is a growing crisis in the lack of affordable housing

or houses to rent. In our region, there are 90,000 families on a or

waiting list. What is the solution? Park of the solution is, for

example, the Sunderland local housing association has come up

with a model which they have presented to the Housing Minister,

providing the king get the funding from the banks and financial

institutions, to provide low-cost housing for people to buy from rent.

We were due see one-off tax on bankers bonuses to build 25,000

euros and put 100,000 people back to work. Bill, the bank bonuses

going to go everywhere isn't it? The reality is that we do want to

work together responsibly. If I have no problem with new-build or

some of the points about having gradual purchases of one kind of

another and getting financial institutions involved is very

important. But at the end of the day, the empty properties - 300,000

- we really have to bring them back into use. Now, what else has been

going on this week Hmm. I know let us get that nice Mark Denten to

tell us. Here he is with the Week in 60 Seconds. Do it and County

Council will decide next week whether to close 14 village halls

and community centres any cost- saving move and persuade local

people to take over 100 others. Teenagers without a job will get

extra help from the Government's Youth contract. More than �8

million will be spent in the North East. Jarrow MP has classed with

the government in the Commons over the NHS shake-up. People who work

in the National Health sell this see this for what it is - if a

Conservative plan for privatisation. Annie sports centre has opened at

University of Durham. And the campaign to bring back the name of

St James' Park. The Parliament motion was put forward by the

Gateshead N P asked Newcastle's owners to think again about calling

it the sports director arena. We are not changing the name of our

were short! No, all this about cuts in police. The impact of this is

going to come for years to come? yes, this is going to be a hard

time for the police force and local authorities. Some can say they can

manage. She surely she has to say something like that? Well, not

necessarily. I mean, Durham has just built a bus shelter at great

expense for a writ which has not been used for years. Look at the

community centres mentioned there. It says it is going to use the

money for absolute priority projects. He is, they are

projecting that between now and 2017 they will lose 40 % of their

spending power. It is this North- South divide. Is the Government's

support for local government expenditure fair? It seems as if

the authorities in the North East, particularly mind which have the

biggest problems with deprivation, are shouldering the biggest of the

burden when it comes to cuts. The figure as to suggest that these

other councils to set do it better. It is appalling to suggest there is

anything political and this. Life does not work like that. What has

to happen is that there has to be more efficiency. There has to be

cost cutting because we're in a difficult economic situation and I

am afraid this has been borne by everybody. I do not agree that

we're taking a major burden there. Everyone in the country is

suffering from the last government. I am sure will disagree.

Unfortunately, we do not have time to talk to him about that!

And that is about it from us. We are back half and hour earlier next

Sunday, at 11.30am, when my guests will be the MP for Redcar Ian

Swales and Newcastle's Chi Onwurah. In the meantime, do not forget my

blog. That is at bbc.co.uk/richardmoss. There is

more on Mary Portas and Maryport there.