The house will be demolished to make way for new houses

People living near the run-down property on Ashton Old Road, Openshaw, have said it would have cost less than �100,000 to refurbish it.

The house was bought from an investor last year as part of the Pathfinder scheme to demolish Victorian terraces and replace them with new developments.

The council said the overall plan for the area justified the price paid.

Openshaw Residents' Association has said it is a waste of public money.

Karen Abbad from the group said: "The council are paying �450,000 for a house that could be converted back into a house, or into the flats it is in, for a lot less, which is a waste of public funds."

According to the Land Registry, the most expensive house on the road is worth �215,000.

But the council paid �450,000 more for house number 1,455, which is split into eight bedsits, to be knocked down.

Four areas in the North West have been targeted in the Pathfinder scheme to regenerate run-down areas - Manchester and Salford, Oldham and Rochdale, East Lancashire and Merseyside.

The scheme is being funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Eamonn Boylan, from Manchester City Council, said: "I think it is justified to spend that amount of money overall to achieve the long-term change that we are trying to deliver, and that we believe is necessary if that area of Openshaw is to have a long-term future."

A spokesperson for Department for Communities and Local Government said: "Local authorities who make up pathfinder schemes take decisions about individual acquisitions not the government.