MORE than 150 flats are to be demolished as a housing association starts to reduce its surplus stocks.

The 159 flats in Lincoln Road, Blackburn, make up the first phase of Twin Valley Homes' stock reduction programme.

It is aimed at clearing properties which are unpopular and hard to let.

Planning permission is being sought from council bosses for houses to come down in other streets around the borough.

Permission has already been given for the homes in Lincoln Road, along with many on the Roman Road and Temple Drive estates in Blackburn, to be removed.

Under the first planning application, Lincoln Road will lose 159 houses, Roman Road 137 and Temple Drive 40.

A further 73 will go on the Ellenshaw estate in Darwen, along with 41 in Two Gates. These were also covered by the first planning application.

Now, a second planning application has been submitted for more houses to be demolished as Twin Valley Homes continue to identify more of the estimated 650 homes they will get rid of.

Houses in North Road, Parkwood Road, Westwood Road, Rivington Street, St Clement's Close and St Clement's Street are all subject of the planning application. All are in the Audley area.

Many of the homes are currently empty and some are boarded up to keep vandals out.

There are no plans at present to replace the homes, although the various sites would be tidied up, possibly for community use.

Twin Valley Homes took over the borough council's 10,000 council homes in 2001 and had warned it might demolish up to 10 per cent of them.

However, it is hoped a series of new initiatives. including the B-With-Us scheme which brings together various housing waiting lists to provide people with a wider choice of homes, will start making social housing more popular.

Chris Gibbins, Director of Property at Twin Valley Homes, said: "We are demolishing 159 flats on Lincoln Road as part of our first phase of stock reduction.

"To date we have proposals to reduce our stock by around 650 properties."

Blackburn with Darwen Council pulled down flats in Mill Hill and Queen's Park to reduce empty properties, while the Space Housing Association has pulled down two blocks in Lark Hill.