PADIHAM is to benefit from a £150,000 facelift.

The new initiative is aimed at older housing areas which are starting to show some signs of decline but which do not justify large scale renewal activity at the moment.

Members of Burnley's housing and community services department decided to target Padiham.

No firm plans have yet been developed but work could include environmental improvements such as stonecleaning and planting, traffic calming, home security work and energy efficiency measures.

The committee agreed it was vital that they should work closely with residents to identify problems and solutions.

Council leader Stuart Caddy said: "What we have to do is to start a rolling programme starting off with Padiham.

"£150,000 is not a lot of money but could make an impact in an area.

"We are hopeful that with partners we could generate more. It has been mentioned that Padiham could become another Hebden Bridge, this would be a start but there is a long way to go."

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