REMAINING blocks of flats at Trafalgar Gardens, Burnley, will start to bite the dust early next month, the council announced today.

The long-awaited go-ahead will clear the way for a £5.1 million new housing scheme to replace the problem-plagued medium-rise complex.

Funding and planning delays brought months of frustration for Burnley council and neighbouring residents as the derelict blocks became a target for vandals and fire-raisers.

Now the final go-ahead has been given and Wimpey Homes is set to move onto the site - clearing the last 10 blocks and replacing them with 66 semi-detached houses and 24 flats in a three year project. The scheme will complete the redevelopment of the 1960s Trafalgar Gardens complex.

All the properties in the latest scheme will be for private sale.

A spokesman for Wimpey Homes said the company had an excellent track record in urban regeneration and looked forward to continuing its success in Burnley.

Council leader Kath Reade, who recently likened the state of the vandal-hit flats to Beirut, said today: "The start of work is welcome news indeed for the council and for local residents."

Peter White of English Partnerships, which is supplying major funding for the work, said the scheme was an important step in the town's regeneration and revival.

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