The government plans to demolish up to 400,000 homes in the north of England, a report has revealed. The 80 page strategy Moving Forward: the Northern Way says that 1.5 million homes in the north are in areas of “market failure” or abandonment. The document says that at current rates only 167,000 homes will be cleared which it believes is “well below the rate required.” The report, which has enraged conservationists trying to save Victorian terraces, was drawn up by three regional development agencies and launched by deputy prime minister John Prescott at the Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester.