Demolish or rebuild

There are many hundreds of thousands of old sub-standard terrace houses across the UK in many of the big cities, all waiting demolition thanks to the the policies espoused by the last Labour government.  Earlier this week, Charles Clover wrote a great piece in the Sunday Times suggesting that rather than "demolish and grass-over", the councils should give these blighted properties to individuals to refurbish at their own expense.
This proposal immediately rang a bell with me, as it echoed a similar policy espoused by speakers at the Building Research Establishment three years ago. One company was doing a deal with local authorities and renovating, not one house at a time, but whole streets. The effect was brilliant: Marooned owners suddenly found themselves with new neighbours instead of boarded up wrecks: First-time buyers found themselves with affordable homes in perfect condition with all mod-cons and insulated to a high standard. The LA saw its income restored and shared the profit on values with the company.
What happened? There's no sign of this happening now. It's likely the collapse in property values and the drying up of mortgages killed it in the intervening period. Whatever, this idea needs reviving, and Charles Clover puts a new spin on it.
Read Charles Clover's full article at www.supasash.com ("Affordable homes" link on the left). It deserves shouting about.