TOWN hall leaders are celebrating today after the government announced a multi-million pound plan to regenerate urban and rural areas in East Lancashire and create thousands of jobs.

The government will contribute more than £30million to several schemes across the area which will open the door to a possible total of £120million of public and private money for the area over the next decade.

And areas of five districts of East Lancashire - Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Rossendale and Burnley have been given assisted area status which means councils can apply for millions of pounds worth of special grants to aid businesses and create jobs.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has won £25million which will see an eventual total of £94million invested in the area.

More than 3,000 jobs will be created or safeguarded and 3,500 school pupils will benefit from projects to improve their learning in a socially deprived area based around the centre of Blackburn, Intack Whitebirk and Queen's Park.

Small and medium sized businesses will receive support, housing will be invested in and crime prevention initiatives will be funded along with basic skills training programmes and drug prevention measures.

Rural areas of East Lancashire will also benefit from £12million of cash thanks to a joint bid submitted for the Ribble Valley and Pendle areas along with Lancaster. The cash will be used to promote job creation in rural towns and villages were there are currently few jobs on offer meaning residents have to commute to nearby larger towns.

Community centres and village halls will be set up to be used as centres for people wanting to set up new businesses.

And they will also be used as a base for services such as health and child care to be provided at village level rather than residents having to travel to Blackburn and Burnley.

In the Ribble Valley, Gisburn, Slaidburn, Chipping and Chatburn are the target areas which will receive the cash.

The Pendle area will benefit from £5million to pay for improvements to skills, health and access to jobs in five deprived wards with the emphasis on ethnic minority groups.

These are Brierfield, Nelson's Bradley and Whitefield wards and Vivary Bridge and Waterside in Colne.

But there was disappointment in Hyndburn with news that a bid for schemes in Great Harwood and Huncoat had been knocked back. The borough bid for £2million for schemes in Netherton and Within Grove, but will not receive a penny.

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "We're extremely disappointed because we thought we had an attractive bid.

"But we won't give up and we'll fight tooth and nail to make sure they can't turn us down next time."

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce Director Mike Damms said: "The SRB money is good news and should give us the chance to increase opportunities for people living in disadvantaged areas.

"News about the assisted area status is also excellent for the area and will make us very competitive."

"The important message is that a lot of agencies have worked together on these bids for the good of the whole of East Lancashire." Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Coun Malcolm Doherty said: "The input from community associations and tenant groups has developed our regeneration plan.

"Now they have a unique opportunity to regenerate their areas and make the most of this valuable investment."

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