COUNCIL bosses are hopeful that money can be found to buy condemned homes in west Accrington, despite a regional funding crisis.

The area is the first to benefit from funding under Project Phoenix - Hyndburn's housing market renewal programme, which is being overseen by Elevate East Lancashire.

The council has been buying up houses so that the area can then be cleared, and more than 50 residents have been been compensated for having to sell up under the scheme.

But the authority has not had enough money to compensate the remaining residents because £600,000 to fund compensation packages was pulled by the North West Development Agency (NWDA).

It had to review its projects after admitting that it had over-committed by £200million.

Today the council's deputy leader, Coun Tony Dobson, who is responsible for regeneration, said he was hopeful that the money would be found from other sources, but he would not reveal what they were until the stop-gap funding had been confirmed.

He said: "We are still continuing to move the project forward and are still negotiating with the people who still there.

"We have said that we would make an agreement with those that can find the money to complete their move themselves in the short-term and we will agree the compensation package and pay it retrospectively.

"We have got a few irons in the fire to plug the gap in funding, which are confidential at the moment. It looks like it will come through, but it will be about another month before we can confirm it."

He added: "We are advising those who have to wait until we have plugged the funding gap to get everything in place so that when the money comes in we can transfer as quickly as possible."

Plans for future waves of funding in the borough under the Elevate regeneration project, along with more local schemes, are to go on display at the town hall next month.

Staff will be on hand throughout the day to show residents how the plans will affect their individual areas.

Plans for Barnfield & Peel, Spring Hill & Scaitcliffe, Oswaldtwistle, Church & West Accrington and Clayton le Moors and Enfield will be on display.

There will also be displays by partner organisations including Sure Start, which is carrying out projects in the area.

The exhibition starts on Monday, September 20, at Accrington Town Hall, from 10am to 4.30pm.

A smaller display of the proposals will remain in the town hall foyer until Friday, September 24.