NEWSAGENT Arthur Wade's shop was smashed up in the disturbances and although his premises have long since been repaired he feels the council has still not got it right.

Arthur has run the business in Abel Street at the heart of Daneshouse for nearly 18 years, during which time he has seen the community grow.

He said: "We all got on well before the disturbances and we all get on now. This area has returned to what it used to be -- a place where people lived together.

"The council has not learned yet to improve its communication with people here because a number of things have happened and we, the people living here, did not know about them."

He said Grey Street had been closed off, but no-one was aware it was planned and the council had removed turf and top soil from the football pitch, but there was confusion in the area as to what was happening when in fact the football pitch was only being replaced.

Mr Wade said: "The council has still not got its communication right."

Ward councillor Mozaquir Ali agreed people in Stoneyholme and Daneshouse now get on better and see themselves as a part of Burnley instead of a separate community.

The community leader and member of the task force said the communities had now begun to accept themselves as being part of the town and not separate.

He said: "That is one of the good things to come out of what happened. They now portray themselves as being part of Burnley and not just from a specific area."

Coun Ali said there would always be different opinions and views within the Stoneyholme and Daneshouse area but he was hopeful people would never again see the bickering factions.

But to complaints from the task force that councillors were too parochial, Coun Ali said: "If someone is attacking my ward then I see it as my moral and public duty to defend the people who elected me to serve them.

Burnley Council leader Stuart Caddy argued that one of the major steps forward was an end to the myth of how funding was allocated to certain areas of town.

Coun Caddy also said the introduction of an Opportunities Fund would help to pay for projects in the areas of town where main stream funds were not available.

He said: "If we treat everyone as equals then we don't have this conflict."