COUNCIL chiefs have applied for £20 million of central government funding to try and tackle the borough's most deprived estates.

Preston council have made the bid to regenerate parts of Avenham, Central and Riversway -- categorised as being among the seven per cent most deprived in England.

The tender, called Winning AvenCentral, was submitted by the Inner Preston Regeneration Partnership which is made up of a wide range of interested groups in the town.

And the partnership is positive that Preston will attract the necessary resources to tackle the problems of unemployment, poor skills and low education, high levels of crime and sub-standard housing conditions.

The proposal is set to attract substantial resources from the Northwest Development Agency and is thought to bring in further European Union funding.

Projects anticipated to take place if the bid is a success will involve the development of St Augustine's -- as a fully-developed community facility, support for local businesses to expand, improvements in leisure and recreation, renovation of local housing and improve safety and reduce crime.

Preston council leader Councillor Ian Hall said: "This bid is an ambitious plan of action for the next seven years for all partners to make maximum use of Single Regeneration Budget resources.

"The bid is focused on community needs and the proposed regeneration programme places people first."

A government decision is expected to be made in early August when the bid's partners will be putting together a detailed delivery plan.