AROUND 70 North Birkenhead families trapped in an urban wasteland of "ghost streets" are to be rescued by the release of new government funding.

More than £71m has been allocated to help families trapped in half-empty and abandoned streets across the North of England and the Midlands left by the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder programme launched by the former Labour Government in 2002.

Families in the Laird Street/Cavendish Street area of Birkenhead were stranded in what Wirral Council housing chief Cllr George Davies called “slumland” after funding dried up following partial demolition work.

Councillor Davies said: “This is an early Christmas present for these families.

"We will now have the funding in place to buy these properties and negotiate the re-housing of these people.

"A lot of people had been concerned and worried about the Laird Street situation.

“If this new funding had not been allocated I don’t know what would have happened.”

The government’s Housing Transition cash of £2.7m will be matched by Wirral Council to provide the cash for completion of 700 new homes in Birkenhead, Tranmere and Seacombe.

Said Cllr Davies: “Within two or three years we will created a series of brand now sustainable communities where people will want to live.“

Housing Minister Grant Shapps, who visited Wirral last week, said: “The families in these half-empty ghost streets should not be left desperately hoping for someone to reorder the rubble.

“That’s why I’ve been able to boost the cash we are committing to more than £35m – matched by councils to bring the total to £71m – to help councils and residents move on from this difficult past and can start realising the potential of their area.”

West Wirral MP Esther McVey, whose efforts led to Mr Shapps visit, said: “I wanted to bring the Minister to Wirral so he could see for himself some of the issues faced by families in our area.

"I am delighted he has agreed to this extra money which follows a request from me and my colleague Cllr Jeff Green last year.

“After all the money that was spent on housing by the previous government it is a disgrace that so many families are still living in homes that are below standard or in overcrowded properties.

"I hope the council will now work with local communities to provide the kind of homes that are so desperately needed.”

Wallasey Labour MP Cllr Angela Eagle has claimed that while Britain was gripped by a growing housing crisis the government’s housing policies were “hurting, but not working.”

She said: “Since the election we have had 127 housing announcements and yet house building is down, homelessness is up, there is a mortgage market where people can’t get mortgages and rents are soaring in the private rental sector.

Ms Eagle added: “Labour would repeat the bankers’ bonus tax to build 25,000 new affordable homes. Together with our proposed 5% cut To VAT on home improvements that would mean more homes, creating much-needed jobs and apprenticeships.

"Under Labour the private rented sector will be properly regulated so that every family that rents has security and choice."