The RICS has recommended that derelict housing and inner city slums are bulldozed and replaced with parks.
The RICS said that parks, could help the regeneration of the UK’s most deprived inner city areas by bringing fresh air and open space.
In reaction to a House of Commons report on empty homes, RICS director of policy Michael Chambers said: “The usual response to the sight of row upon row of worn out and abandoned homes is to try to revive them with injections of cash. But this often fails.
“Authorities will sometimes find that large-scale investment will simply not be viable, in which case demolition and an alternative land use must be seriously considered.”
Chambers said that housing renovations should only be undertaken “where it is likely to work”.
“This is particularly the case in some Northern and Midland cities where the problem is not one of a housing shortage, but housing in the wrong places,” he said.
He added that the government should work harder to detect early signs of creeping dereliction in a residential area. “Intervention at this stage can stop the rot,” he said.
EGi News 22/03/0
