Housing delay frustrates council

Council leader Coun Stuart Caddy, speaking at a meeting of the council executive, said he was hoping £680 million of funding would have been announced for the borough's Housing Market Renewal Initiative by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott last week.

Instead officials from Mr Prescott's new Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said it could be up to 12 or 18 months before any figure was finally put on the money available.

This was despite a broad hint from Chancellor Gordon Brown that 'significant' amounts of money were in the pipeline to get rid of poor housing.

Coun Caddy did say that he was pleased that East Lancashire was still one of nine 'Pathfinders' in the country which means £2.66 million will be allocated to help develop housing renewal proposals.

Yet, he said,. even this money could be allocated until there is agreement on the boundaries of what are intervention areas and how the initiative will be delivered.

These delays mean it could be 2006 before any resources are available.

Coun Caddy said: "I am disappointed the money was not announced.

"We are starting to build confidence in the Burnley community and if an announcement had been made it would have built on that.

"John Prescott's announcement concentrated more on the south of England which is good for them but we are interested in what happens in Burnley."

"It won't stop us making progress. We will keep pressing as a council to get as much investment into Burnley as possible."

He added: "Housing renewal is about much more than bricks and mortar, it is about re-building whole communities, restoring the pride of residents and giving them confidence in regeneration."

The council agreed proposals at last night's executive meeting to set up a shadow board of representatives from the council, private sector, financial institutions, housing associations and government agencies to deal with the money when it arrives.