The announcement by the chancellor that we are to have nine "mixed communities" pilot schemes reminds me of the many attempts that have been made over the past 20 years to tackle our most deprived housing estates - to name but three: Estate Action, Housing Action Trusts and the Estate Renewal Challenge Fund. Each had strengths and weaknesses. Estate Action extended the lifetime of properties but did not often address the long-term causes of social isolation and economic failure. Some of the Housing Action Trusts, such as Castle Vale in Birmingham, achieved transformational change, but at a prohibitive cost to the public purse.
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