A LEADING councillor has blamed “dithering” town hall bosses after a developer pulled out of a flagship Burnley regeneration scheme.

Burnley Council Labour group leader Julie Cooper said officers stalling over buying land for the Elevate programme had led to Gleeson Regeneration’s shock decision to pull out of the town on Thursday.

The company was due to build new houses in the run-down Duke Bar, Daneshouse and Stoneyholme areas of the town as part of a regeneration ‘masterplan’.

The firm has blamed the credit crunch for pulling out, saying it could not continue in the current economic climate.

However, Coun Cooper said: “I have been complaining about the terrible delay to the Elevate scheme but the only answer I get is that it is a 15-year rolling programme.

“The council has dithered and dallied over it and now this has happened.

"We should not be in this position. It has taken them so long to get the land it is no wonder Gleesons have pulled out.”

Gleesons was expected to build around 280 homes in the Duke Bar, Daneshouse and Stoneyholme before the decision to withdraw.

However, council leader Gordon Birtwistle said “very positive” talks were currently ongoing with developer Great Places, which is due to build 18 separate homes in Burnley, and the company was “keen” about taking on the remain-ing planned properties.

Coun Birtwistle added: “It is a blow but Gleesons were never signed up in the first place.

“We are talking to Great Places at the moment. Rather than them doing the hundreds of homes all at once, they could do 20 or so at a time.

“We will get there eventually but it will take a bit longer.”

As part of the masterplan drawn up by regeneration agency Elevate and Burnley Council, developer Keepmoat is set to build homes in Burnleywood and South West Burnley.