RESIDENTS say they fear losing out on £200,000 of regeneration cash, after council bosses dropped the item in this week's Burnley Council executive committee.

Householders in the Accrington Road and Trinity areas are worried they could miss out on the money earmarked for improvements to properties, including stone cleaning, pointing and new gutters, installation of railings and gates.

But the council said the Facelifting Report, which sets out how the money will be spent, was withdrawn from the committee to allow the council time for consultation with residents about which properties should be included in the programme. The cash must be spent by the end of March 2004 or it will be lost.

John Burrows, local resident and chairman of Accrington Road Residents' Association (ARRA), said: "We are on a very, very tight time scale to keep the Facelifting Programme on track.

"Residents responded magnificently to our Challenge Trinity project when we requested residents to identify blocks which could be face-lifted this year.

"If the executive keep delaying decisions we will run out of time. Very little of the £100,000 allocated for 2002/03 has been spent in the Accrington Road area and if the executive don't get a move on it looks like even less will be spent in our area in the coming year."

Trinity councillor Tony Lambert, said: "I am very worried.

"It beggars belief that here we are almost at the stage of running out of time before problems are brought to councillors' and residents' attention."

In January, it was reported that Facelift Schemes would be delivered from SRB regeneration cash over three phases and the funding available was £200,000 for 2002/3, £400,000 for 2003/4 and £650,000 for 2004/5, to be split equally between Burnley Wood and Accrington Road.

Coun Lambert raised his concerns at this week's executive committee meeting and was supported by fellow Trinity ward councillor and executive member Carole Galbraith.

Coun Galbraith said: "This seems to be the latest thing in a catalogue of errors or hiccups in the Accrington Road area.

"The people there are living with empty houses, back yards filled with rubbish and kids roaming the streets because the playground equipment has been removed and they feel somewhat abandoned by the council."

But council leader Coun Stuart Caddy, said: "No way will the Trinity ward be abandoned -- We are full committed as a council to regeneration in that area.

"Residents are concerned, but they need to know that this report was withdrawn so we could hold a public consultation exercise."