She said: "I don't think there is a uniform national approach that can be applied to that kind of problem. There are different pressures in different places, caused by the nature of the housing stock and by local economic pressures."
She said the ODPM was considering a "programme of resources" for market renewal in next month's comprehensive spending review, but that it would focus on regional projects. "We need to maintain the strongly regional and sub-regional approach," she said.
Cooper's comments will disappoint the National Housing Federation, the Chartered Institute of Housing, Local Government Association and some of the areas that narrowly failed to become pathfinders in the government's £500m national programme for market renewal.
They had joined forces to campaign for a national strategy.
In March, the campaigners submitted a sheaf of recommendations to the ODPM.
The submission said the government had accepted that the nine pathfinders set up in April 2002 weren't sufficient to deal with low demand across the UK.
Sarah Webb, policy director at the CIH and one of the people who drafted the submission, said: "I'm worried that some of the crucial concepts within our bid seem to have been lost.
"The national part is important because the current polarisation of policy into the north-south debate is far too superficial and ignores the very real market restructuring issues in places such as coastal and small market towns in the South, and new towns and old urban areas in the Midlands."
However Annie Hopley, head of the northern region at the NHF, said she had been encouraged by Cooper's remarks, because a strong regional element to the strategy had always been envisaged. "We're pleased to see we're on the same agenda as the government," said Hopley.
Source
Housing Today
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