Forty homes in Burnley demolished under Elevate

5:55pm Wednesday 9th April 2008

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By Kate Turner »

FORTY homes have been demolished in Burnley as part of the multi-million-pound Elevate regeneration scheme in East Lancashire.

The homes in Branch Road, Parliament Street and Springfield Road in the Burnley Wood area of the town were demolished last week to make way for new homes and sheltered housing accomodation.

And houses in Crowther Street are having scaffolding put up to enable them to be cleared before they are demolished.

Burnley Council is aiming to regenerate neighbourhoods that are suffering from low housing demand.

In the last year, a 100 homes have been given a facelift along Hollingreave Road, Hufling Lane and Branch Road. And housing landlord Calico has almost completed its new development of 40 sheltered housing units to replace the old Gerald Court.

Housing developers Keepmoat Ltd has already met with residents to discuss its initial proposals on a development of over a 100 homes for the Burnley Wood area that has just been cleared.

Staff are due to meet up with residents again in the next few months before official plans are submitted to the council for planning permission.

Rosehill with Burnley Wood councillor, Jeff Sumner welcomed the project. He said: "At first residents in the community were against the demolition, but those who have not had to move out of their homes have now come round to the work and realised it is for the better.

"In the next eight years I think the house prices will soar and people will struggle to find a house for sale in the area. We have already seen more people come back to Burnley Wood and this is only going to get better as the work continues.

"Burnley Wood has a strong community, and has recently won a Best of Burnley Community Award. It is a nice place to live and with the money from Elevate it will continue to improve."

This year Burnley has been given £15.5million from the government to regenerate the town and more money is expected to be given in the next few years.

Mike Cook, Burnley Council's director of regeneration and housing said: "Burnley Wood is experiencing a great deal of positive change, just as South West Burnley, Daneshouse, Duke Bar and Stoneyholme, are too.

"Burnley Council works hard to support residents through this time of change and will continue to do so as we are determined to transform these neighbourhoods and make them into places where people choose to live."