THREE bids made by Rossendale Council for government funding from a market town initiative fell on stoney ground.

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson was concerned that the council might had never applied for the funding and asked chief executive Steven Hartley to investigate the matter urgently.

But engineer and planning officer John Cowpe said the council had declined taking part in a proposed pilot project because no funding was being made available at that stage.

He said: "I asked the question on behalf of Rossendale if we were accepted on the pilot project was there any funding and the short answer was no.

"I read it that ultimately they were going to use us as an information gathering tool."

But, after the pilot project the scheme was announced nationally and Rossendale put in bids for Bacup, Haslingden and Rawtenstall.

Mr Cowpe said he was never told why the three applications had not been accepted, but by that time Bacup and Stacksteads had already secured its single regeneration budget money of £4.75million.