THE poorest areas of Pendle are about to receive a cash windfall of more than £4million from the Government's Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

The borough has been included in the Department of Transport Local Government and Regions' (DTLR) 88 most deprived boroughs in England and therefore qualifies for cash. Burnley, Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn received similar awards.

Burnley's share is £2.86million; Blackburn with Darwen has been awarded £9.75million and Hyndburn £2.91million.

Under the scheme the country's most deprived areas are allocated cash grants based on need. That need is assessed through a series of factors which include housing, employment, incomes and child poverty. The same indicators are used to assess a borough's most deprived areas.

Pendle's award of £4,412m over three years is already being distributed to organisations. They will look at ways of improving the delivery of services from public, private and voluntary sectors.

Azhar Ali, leader of Pendle Council, has welcomed the windfall and said residents in the borough should see a "significant improvement" in service delivery over the next three years. He said: "This money is going to be a great boost to Pendle and how the council and other agencies deliver services."

Organisations submitted bids to Pendle Council, outlining why and how they would improve service delivery. The aim of Neighbourhood Renewal Funds is to tackle depravation focusing on the targets of education, unemployment, crime, health and housing. In order for a bid to be successful it must demonstrate its ability to impact on one of the targets.

Money will also be used to carry out a number of town centre improvements across the borough. These will include the installation of street furniture, erection of ornate railings in Colne Road and new lighting schemes.