A £170 MILLION bid for support to transform East Lancashire housing has been submitted the government.

The detailed plea for cash tells Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott how the money would be used to help revitalise communities within East Lancashire, parts of which are among the most deprived in the country.

It has been estimated that £1billion is needed over 10 years to revitalise crumbling houses and deprived estates in East Lancashire.

The government has set aside £500million to be spent over the next three years in nine 'Pathfinder' areas of the country. So far, £200million has been given to Manchester, leaving eight areas, including the East Lancashire Pathfinder of Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Pendle, Burnley and a small part of Rossendale, to scrap it out for the rest.

Now bosses at Elevate East Lancashire, the body set up to run Pathfinder in East Lancashire, hope their submission will help ensure they get a large slice of the remaining funds. Chairman David Taylor, said: "We have worked closely with our local authority partners and other key agencies to draft an imaginative programme that will go a long way to making all of East Lancashire a vibrant and sustainable place to live, work and visit."

Max Steinberg, chief executive of Elevate, added: "We are confident of attracting investment to East Lancashire from a range of sources."

Talks will begin in the Spring between the Government and East Lancashire on how much money the area should get.

East Lancashire is competing against Merseyside, Oldham and Rochdale, Newcastle/Gateshead, South Yorkshire, Humberside, North Staffordshire and Birmingham/Sandwell.

The submission to the Government suggests £43million be spent in Blackburn with Darwen, primarily in the Central Darwen, Bank Top, Griffin, Audley, Queens Park, Whitebirk and Infirmary areas. Repairs to existing houses will take place, along with demolition and new building work.

In Hyndburn, about £23.5million would be spent, mainly in the West Accrington, Church, Clayton and Enfield areas.

Houses would be improved, environmental works would be carried out, unwanted homes demolished and 'confidence building' carried out to improve images of certain areas.

Pendle requires £27million, according to the submission, mainly in the Colne, Brierfield and Nelson areas. New houses would be built to meet demand, older houses would be repair where practical and unwanted terraced housing would be pulled down.

Some £39million needs spending in Burnley, with improvement to current homes, environmental enhancement and land clearance all on the cards. Rossendale required the least amount, £5million, which would be used in the Bacup and Stacksteads area.