Letter: 'Tower block ghettoes': a coherent housing policy is the only answer

Sir: The response to concrete wastelands is clear. Rather than one short-term piecemeal regeneration scheme after another, the real issue is the desperate need for a coherent housing policy. The concerns of those people who have to live in poor housing, in fear or without accommodation, appear to have been lost.

Much has been made of so-called problem council estates, but now housing associations are being forced by current government policy into a similar situation. Cuts in subsidy mean increased reliance on private investment, the cost of which is passed on to tenants in increased rents. High rents, especially for those on benefits, trap people into poverty, creating a new generation of "problem estates". Private investment is more likely to result in housing associations building large estates, replicating those problems which John Major has identified as his concern.

This, sadly, is not news. The cycle has been recognised by providers of social housing who face a lack of support from central government in their attempt to grasp the nettle of more human housing. Housing associations and local authorities already have to compete with one another for the limited money available for regeneration and new social housing. This Government slashed, by more than 50 per cent, next year's budget for the building of new homes to rent, and cut £100 million from the money allocated to local authorities, most of which is used for repairs.

As access to decent accommodation becomes more dependent upon the ability to pay, individual choice is a meaningless concept for those reliant on social housing. Building communities takes resources - let John Major put his money where his mouth is.

Yours sincerely,

ROBINA RAFFERTY

Director

Catholic Housing Aid Society

London, NW1

27 April