David Ireland/Empty Homes Agency

David Ireland, chief exec of the Empty Homes Agency, has always talked a lot of sense on Housing Market Renewal. He wasn’t completely opposed to the scheme but thought the way it was being rolled out was somewhat clumsy and could be far less damaging to both the existing buildings and the communities who lived in the affected areas. Before HMR’s funding was clawed back by the coalition government in October, we spoke about how the recession and expected budget cuts could change the programme for the better.