THE BOSS of a Burnley housing association said today he was determined to improve after the service was given a one-star rating in a report.

Tim Pinder, Chief Executive of Calico, formerly Burnley and Padiham Community Housing, said he welcomed the findings from the Audit Commission's Inspection Report but stressed that the service would get better.

The Audit Commission gave Calico a one-star 'fair' rating out of a possible three and found a number of key weaknesses in the service.

Problems included difficulty of access to offices, an inconsistent level of repairs and problems of anti-social behaviour taking too long to resolve.

The commission, however, praised Calico's engagement with black and ethnic minority communities, its recruitment policies and its repairs hotline.

The report recommended the service to promote customer care, provide best value for money and involve customers more.

Mr Pinder said: "We are determined to address the recommendations fully in our action plan and to get on and deliver them to improve our services further. We are convinced that we can deliver these improvements and gain at least a two-star rating and positive prospects for improvement rating next time around.

"We accept that on balance the rating this time of one star "fair" is a reasonable assessment based upon the evidence provided in the report.

"Whilst we accept the observations made in the report as to areas for refinement and improvement, we feel that we can demonstrate that our prospects for improvement are 'promising' ".

He said the service had started to improve in a number of areas including a move to a new accessible office in the town centre, a new customer relations team, an action plan on repairs, more action on anti-social behaviour and a procurement plan to ensure best value for money.

Mr Pinder invited the audit commission team to return to Burnley next year to judge the success of the action plan.

Calico, formerly Burnley and Padiham Community Housing, has just over 5,000 properties.