THE chairman of Merseyside’s controversial £190m housing renewal scheme has said it is not about gentrification or wholesale demolition.

Speaking at the inaugural Northern Urban Regeneration exhibition and conference (NUREC) yesterday, John Glester said: “The perception of HMR is radical clearance dating back to the 1960s and nothing is further from the truth.

“We have refurbished six times more homes than we have demolished, it’s not wholesale demolition.”

NewHeartlands is one of the Government’s housing market renewal (HMR) schemes which covers 130,000 homes across Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral.

Mr Glester was among a number of Liverpool-based speakers, including John Kelly, executive director of regeneration for Liverpool City Council, and Dr Paula Grey director of public health for Liverpool PCT and city council.

Held at the BT Conference Centre , the two-day conference attracted thousands of regeneration experts from across the country.

Ian Robinson, chief executive of the Affordable Housing Development Company, said: “This has been a great opportunity for Liverpool to show off our regeneration schemes.”