A COUNCIL chief has welcomed Burnley's bid for £25 million Government regeneration cash for run down areas - even though his own ward, the poorest in town, has been snubbed.

Housing chairman Rafique Malik who has championed the Daneshouse area's cause for two decades, says the cash available under the next round of the Single Regeneration Budget to tackle deprivation simply isn't enough to deal with the needs of the ward.

Instead, he says, Daneshouse should be in the forefront of the New Deal for Communities programme, which could rake in up to £50 million.

Angry Liberal Democrat ward councillor Mozaquir Ali slammed ruling Labour councillors when they decided to ignore officers' advice and exclude Daneshouse from the SRB bid, opting instead to target it on Burnley Wood and Accrington Road. He said they had ignored the area of greatest need, bending to public pressure for aid to be diverted from Daneshouse.

But Coun Malik disagreed, claiming the ruling Labour group had made the right decision.

He said: "I am delighted that funding is being sought for Burnley Wood and Accrington Road - they deserve resources to rectify the rapidly deteriorating situation in these areas."

Coun Malik said Daneshouse needed £40 million to address its housing problems alone and only £10 million of SRB's £25 million was targeted on housing, the lion's share to be spent on tackling other areas of deprivation.

"Daneshouse qualified for the bid on merit, but it was not the best way forward."

Coun Malik said he would be fighting tooth and nail for the ward's inclusion in the New Deal bid, which was likely to be made next year.

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