More cohesive communities depend on solving housing problems, council leaders warn
Council leaders have warned that last summer's race riots could recur unless funding is found to tackle low-demand areas of housing.

Bradford, Burnley and Oldham joined forces last week to call for the proposed £8bn housing market renewal fund to be included in the government's comprehensive spending review.

Bradford and Burnley have just issued draft community cohesion plans. These come after Home Office guidance warned that the concentration of minority ethnic communities in segregated areas helped spark the disturbances.

Burnley identified poor housing and low demand as core issues that the town needed to address.

It stated: "... We will simply not achieve a more cohesive community without addressing our housing problems. The housing market renewal fund programme sits at the heart of our neighbourhood renewal and community renaissance plans."

An announcement on the fund is expected in July. Should the idea win government approval, it would be administered over 10 years to tackle unpopular housing in all sectors and tenures.

Bradford's draft community cohesion strategy predicts the city will grow by 15,000 households by 2010. Many of these will be Asian extended families, and an extra 9000 houses with three or more bedrooms will be needed.

It forecasts that 3500 of these new households will need affordable rented homes. The strategy calls for close monitoring of segregation, and urges new landlord Bradford Community Housing Trust to ensure it meets the needs of the city's minority ethnic communities.

Education, employment, housing and health indicators will be monitored. These will be analysed by race, gender, disability, age and locality as will incidents of antisocial behaviour, public disorder and participation in community activities.

Bradford's housing director Geraldine Howley said the market renewal fund would be vital.

"We haven't got streets of abandoned properties, but there are areas that need funds in order to make them sustainable," Howley told Housing Today. "We have overcrowding and unfitness. It's about nipping the problem in the bud."

Oldham's executive director of housing Hugh Broadbent said: "Our problem is that many Asian communities actually prop up the private housing sector housing market in areas of poor quality where renovation is impossible."

Some 300 Oldham properties needed to be cleared every year, but this required funding, he said.

Chartered Institute of Housing policy officer David Fotheringham said: "The housing market renewal fund is crucial – unless you have the sums of money behind, you are not going to be able to solve the problems."