NUMEROUS attempts have been made to improve the housing conditions for all across East Lancashire over the years.

This set of photographs were taken at the new Delph Lane estate in Blackburn probably around 1970 shortly after it was built

The estate - at Shadsworth - was seen as being groundbreaking at the time with many of the houses and maisonettes being of a ‘skarne’ construction, which meant they were made up of concrete panels with brick gables and were described as ‘non-traditional’.

New roads were built - including Romney Walk, Dover Close, Hythe Close and Hastings Close - and attention was paid to creating open spaces, often grassed, and a central playground.

Sadly the new homes were not as effective as had been hoped and the estate experienced its fair share of problems. Not least was the fact that many of the homes were riddled with asbestos which led to a costly removal process around 2002/2003. By 2004 a £2.8million improvement scheme was underway.