PLANS for how £15million will be spent in a bid to rejuvenate Burnley's housing have been unveiled.

A report by Burnley Council officers reveals two options for the demolition of homes in three areas of the town - South West Burnley, Daneshouse and Burnley Wood.

More than 270 homes are to be bulldozed and 240 homes given facelifts under the biggest rebuilding programme Burnley has ever seen, regardless of which option is chosen.

The report, which also details how much each house clearance scheme would cost, outlines which specific homes could be demolished for the first time.

Consultation is being carried out before councillors decide on which option to proceed with at a meeting of the council's executive committee on April 27.

The two options cover the areas identified as most in need of cash in the first round of spending as part of the Government's 10-year Elevate East Lancashire housing renewal programme.

Option one will include 116 homes in the Burnley Wood area, to be replaced by 40 bungalows for the elderly at a cost of £3.2million and facelifting dozens of houses along Colne Road, considered by housing chiefs to be one of the most important routes into the town.

It also features plans to knock down homes in Athol Street North and Elmwood, Trinity. Residents in these streets had earlier lodged a petition with Burnley Council calling on councillors to retain their homes.

Option two would see 37 properties in Duke Bar given facelifting work while demolishing 95 homes in one south-west Burnley Street, Accrington Road.

A number of high-profile initiatives will happen regardless of which option is chosen.

These include a £262,000 Vacant Property Initiative which will see the council tackle the scourge of vacant housing which currently blights the town. Under this scheme homes will be bought, refurbished and resold.

An anti-social mediation project will also provide a one-stop shop for residents suffering from nuisance neighbours.

Mike Cook, Burnley's director of housing and regeneration, said: "These proposals are about making the best possible use of the first major allocation of Elevate funds we've won for the borough.

"Our aim is to carry out a mixture of housing clearance, improvements to existing properties and environmental improvements to begin changing the way housing markets operate in our initial priority areas.

"Work on this scale will also have positive knock-on benefits across the whole borough.

"Councillors will consider the details in the report over the next week, with discussion and debate sure to be intense."

Coun Stuart Caddy, leader of Burnley Council, said: "I am pleased that these proposals clearly take account of all the feedback and community consultation we have done since last summer.

"We know that when we are carrying out an ambitious and radical programme, there will be a lot of concerns and questions from residents.

"I've asked officers to make sure that these are important in shaping Elevate work, and I am pleased to see that the views we've had in are included in the report, with officers explaining how their ideas fit with residents' views.

"Over the last couple of weeks, officers working on Elevate have held briefing sessions at Turf Moor attended by over 140 members of residents groups and local agency representatives, talked informally with scores of residents, and committed to meetings with residents this week in Daneshouse and South West Burnley.