RAMSBOTTOM is hoping for a £600,000 cash injection to provide new flats and building repairs in the town's conservation area.

Town hall leaders have put in a bid for English Heritage money to spark investment in local jobs, houses and town centre regeneration.

It could be second time lucky for the town which was passed over by Bury Council when the first round of money was dished out.

The bid aims to bring in around £100,000 over the next three years under cash from the English Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme (HERS). This would be augmented by £500,000 from Bury Council and Manchester Methodist Housing Association, who would turn the upper floors of the old Co-op building into flats.

The housing association created flats for elderly people at the Old Baptist Chapel in Bolton Street, opened last year, with the aid of a heritage grant.

There would also be be money to refurbish and perhaps create more flats in buildings on Bridge Street.

Bury will be told in mid-September if its preliminary bid has been successful. If so, it will work up a full bid by October and if that is approved, work will start next April. It should also bring to an end some confusion over what was actually on the table in the first round of bidding.

Originally English Heritage had invited Bury to bid for funds for Ramsbottom, but council officers chose to submit a bid for Prestwich instead.

Mr Jim Metcalf, borough planning officer, said that the reasons for Ramsbottom's perceived "snub" were two-fold. Firstly, the housing association did not have the necessary matching funds this year. Secondly, unlike Prestwich, there were doubts that Ramsbottom would qualify for cash because it has previously received heritage monies.

It now appears that the housing association and the council will have sufficient money in next year's budgets to start a successful scheme. Whether Ramsbottom will qualify and benefit remains to be seen.

The move has been welcomed by local councillor Barry Theckston, who said there had been "a lot of misunderstanding" about the first bid which had now been sorted out.

"I'm delighted about it," said the Tory councillor for Ramsbottom. "The scheme at the Old Baptist Church has proved very successful. I cannot see any other use for this building other than accommodation. This is a good idea, it seems the ideal way forward.

"We're in the hands of English Heritage, it's a case of fingers crossed. We can only wait and hope that this funding will come to Ramsbottom."

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