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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Woman wins homes demolition fight | Woman wins homes demolition fight |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A 59-year-old woman has won a legal challenge to a major urban regeneration programme involving the demolition of hundreds of houses. | A 59-year-old woman has won a legal challenge to a major urban regeneration programme involving the demolition of hundreds of houses. |
| Mr Justice Forbes has overturned a compulsory purchase order which would have forced Elizabeth Pascoe to move from her Liverpool home. | Mr Justice Forbes has overturned a compulsory purchase order which would have forced Elizabeth Pascoe to move from her Liverpool home. |
| The demolition is part of the government's Pathfinder initiative. | The demolition is part of the government's Pathfinder initiative. |
| The judge also ruled that Mrs Pascoe's right to private and family life had been violated by the order. | The judge also ruled that Mrs Pascoe's right to private and family life had been violated by the order. |
| It is bittersweet because much of my community has already been destroyed as a result of this initiative Elizabeth Pascoe | It is bittersweet because much of my community has already been destroyed as a result of this initiative Elizabeth Pascoe |
| Mrs Pascoe's solicitor, Phil Shiner, said the judge had overturned the CPO and declared that English Partnerships, the acquiring authority, had acted outside its powers. | Mrs Pascoe's solicitor, Phil Shiner, said the judge had overturned the CPO and declared that English Partnerships, the acquiring authority, had acted outside its powers. |
| Mrs Pascoe challenged the CPO granted to English Partnerships to buy and bulldoze 500 homes at Edge Lane West in Liverpool for a new road scheme into the city centre and new housing. | Mrs Pascoe challenged the CPO granted to English Partnerships to buy and bulldoze 500 homes at Edge Lane West in Liverpool for a new road scheme into the city centre and new housing. |
| It was the first in a series of CPOs planned by the Urban Regeneration Agency for deprived inner city areas. | It was the first in a series of CPOs planned by the Urban Regeneration Agency for deprived inner city areas. |
| 'Social cleansing' | 'Social cleansing' |
| Mr Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, said: "This was a test case, which means that this victory will benefit people across the country who are affected by the Pathfinder scheme." | Mr Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, said: "This was a test case, which means that this victory will benefit people across the country who are affected by the Pathfinder scheme." |
| But Mrs Pascoe, who faced having to leave her Victorian terraced house, had mixed feelings. | But Mrs Pascoe, who faced having to leave her Victorian terraced house, had mixed feelings. |
| "This is a pyrrhic victory for me. It is bittersweet because much of my community has already been destroyed as a result of this initiative," she said. | "This is a pyrrhic victory for me. It is bittersweet because much of my community has already been destroyed as a result of this initiative," she said. |
| "Many of my neighbours who had lived here happily for decades succumbed only recently to various pressures and left." | "Many of my neighbours who had lived here happily for decades succumbed only recently to various pressures and left." |
| The Edge Lane scheme was described as "social cleansing" by Jane Kennedy, the local Labour MP, at the public inquiry that approved the plans. | The Edge Lane scheme was described as "social cleansing" by Jane Kennedy, the local Labour MP, at the public inquiry that approved the plans. |
| Welsh streets | |
| Other residents who face losing their homes under the Pathfinder scheme welcomed the ruling. | |
| Nina Edge, who campaigns against plans to bulldoze hundreds of homes in the Welsh Streets area of Liverpool, including the birthplace of ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, hoped the decision would set a precedent. | |
| "The ruling on Edge Lane is unique and all the different threatened areas would be fought on slightly different grounds," she said. | |
| "But the important thing is that the right of a person to live in their home has been made clear unless there is a really pressing infrastructure project." |