RESIDENTS have accused Burnley Council of abandoning a flagship regeneration project after it pulled back from plans to facelift 80 homes.

Now Accrington Road Residents Association (ARRO) said it fears a government grant of £400,000 to transform part of Trinity into a 'Home Zone' could be wasted.

During a consultation period to secure funding for the project, Burnley Council said its proposals included £175,000 to be spent on facelifting 80 houses in the Trinity area.

But the council has now said that because of soaring costs, that will not now happen unless they can find extra cash.

The announcement Burnley was to be given the money by the Department of Transport was made in January 2002, but since then none of the Home Zone regeneration work has been carried out.

John Burrows, chairman of ARRO, which took part in a bid to secure the funding, said: "We are trying to make the area a showpiece, which is what Home Zone is all about.

"I am a bit concerned we might not achieve that because they have cut some of the programme."

The creation of Home Zones was announced by the Prime Minister Tony Blair in April 2001, in a major speech about the quality and 'liveability' of our public spaces.

The key feature of the zones is to ensure that traffic is kept to very low speeds by design.

For existing streets this will usually mean re-paving with much wider pavements and possibly no kerbs.

Mr Burrows added: "If they do not face-lift homes the Home Zone will not be the finished article.

"I have been telling people since the programme was announced that these homes were going to be face-lifted.

"I thought it was all cut and dried, but obviously it's not.

"If they are going to cut the programme of something that is supposed to be a showcase project, this seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul."

Trinity councillor Tony Lambert, added: "I am as worried as the residents. At the last meeting we had with council officers they would not commit themselves to anything, I could not get a straight answer out of them.

"A lot of these people have been promised things and now they are in doubt and that is not on.

"We have to keep fighting for the residents, but at the moment I am very worried."

Manchester was chosen as one of nine pilot areas for the Home Zone initiative. Work on face-lifting 250 homes started in the same year funding became available.

A Burnley Council spokesman said: "The council has confirmed its commitment to deliver the programme and we have agreed that the Home Zone will proceed.

"Initially, a number of small projects identified as priorities by residents will be developed. These projects include new street lighting, making Back Coal Clough Lane up to adoptable standard and screen planting to the concrete panel fence adjacent to the railway.

"Residents have been informed that because of the deterioration and condition of houses, the costs of the improvements have soared in excess of the funding in the Home Zone programme.

"Potentially, we may be able to carry out the housing improvements such as face-lifting by accessing the necessary funds from other housing regeneration programmes and we are actively investigating these schemes."

But, according to Mr Burrows, that 'commitment' falls short of what was originally promised.

He added: "Planting a few bushes, improving the street lights and Tamacing a back street isn't making a Home Zone."

ARRO's environmental co-ordinator Maureen Craig, said: "There is no point doing anything if they are not going to do it properly, they may as well stop the project."