London: Houses in a failed regeneration zone are set to be sold for a ridiculous sum of one pound, even though they were bought for as much as 70,000 pounds under former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott`s regeneration Pathfinder scheme.
Liverpool city council has offered the Victorian terraced homes in the Granby Triangle at the rock-bottom price to do it yourself enthusiasts after council bosses broke off talks with a contractor over a 25-million pound plan to transform the financially-struggling area of the city.
Now, since the deal fell through and the houses left unoccupied, the council proposes to sell off a cluster of homes for just 1 pound to residents - on the condition they will be brought up to a decent standard, the Mirror reported.
Private landlords can also bid for the tender to refurbish some of the vacant homes and then buy the freeholds for the same budget price.
Liverpool`s deputy mayor and council finance chief Cllr Paul Brant said that this scheme allows people who may be excluded from mortgages but have construction skills to play a part in the regeneration of their communities.
He said that it`s been proven to work in other parts of the region and that they`ve seen that the private sector model has not succeeded so far and, through this way, if there is any profit it will stay with local people.
(ANI)
