IMPROVING health and the environment and tackling crime will be among the areas to benefit from a £4million cash boost announced for Burnley today.

The government has confirmed that the cash will be spent in the town over the next two years as part of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund which has already brought £11million to the town since 2001.

The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) is a special grant given to areas of the country which need extra support to improve education, health, housing, crime and employment.

Vice-Chair of Burnley Action Partnership (BAP) and council leader, Stuart Caddy, said: "This is great news. We are well on the road to improving the lives of people that need most support.

"If each step taken has people's interests at heart, just as the NRF programme does, then we know we are heading in the right direction."

BAP includes representatives from the borough and county council, police and primary care trust, private sector organisations, Burnley College, schools, voluntary groups and community groups.

Priorities for the £4million, identified in BAP's plan to improve the borough, are issues such as supporting people back into work, increasing the number of people who benefit from education, improving the environment, health issues and tackling crime.

Councillor Caddy said: "This funding will go straight to the heart of communities providing services and support where it is most needed. It has already supported many projects across the town, from the Howard Street Community Health Centre, the new St Peter's Centre and the Drug Street Agency.

"This is the birth of a new Burnley.

"There is almost £600million worth of investment for new homes, schools, the town centre and services but regeneration is always about people: a new house is about improving where people live; a new shopping centre is about improving quality of life, a new health centre is about offering people a helping hand when they need it.

"That is regeneration and that is what NRF funding will continue to bring to Burnley."