PEOPLE living on Coates Estate in Barnoldswick will have cosier homes if a bid for government cash is successful.

Staff at Pendle Council got facts and figures together to support the application after MP Gordon Prentice suggested the idea to councillors.

The 142 houses involved were built in the 1950s. They are made of concrete and poorly insulated.

The planned improvements include insulation rendering and new plastic windows, estimated to cost £440,000. Half of the cash could come from the Energy Conservation Challenge Fund.

One of the strings attached to the bid is that all the work has to be completed by the end of March, even though it will be nearly Christmas before Pendle will not knows whether or not it can go ahead.

Said Mr Prentice: "I want to see Pendle get its share, although why on earth we need competitions is a constant source of wonder to me.

"Too many people in Pendle live in freezing, hard to heat houses and they need help now."

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