RESIDENTS in one of the most deprived areas of England have been told 169 of their houses will be demolished in the first phase of a regeneration scheme.

Pendle Councillors voted to demolish houses in Whitefield, Nelson, at a special meeting of the Pendle Services Committee, despite protests from residents who said they wanted their homes refurbished instead of being demolished.

The Clearance Areas will be in the Nelson West area, which is bounded by Manchester Road, Macleod Street, the canal and Stanley Street, and the houses have been declared as unfit for human inhabitation.

The Council received letters of objection and three petitions which said that demolishing the houses would rip out the heart of the community.

The first two petitions, which were signed by 57 residents, said: "We have always lived close to one another and would like to continue this way.

"It would definitely cause our family structure to breakdown resulting in emotional distress, health problems, childcare problems, unemployment and schooling problems among others."

But their protests were rejected along with a plea by the Liberal Democrat councillors that the English Heritage should be allowed to carry out its consultations into the architectural and historical importance of this area.

Councillor Azhar Ali said: "This has been on-going for almost 20 years and 10 years' ago Southfield was selected for clearance ahead of Whitefield.

"There are plans to clear approximately 400 houses during the next 10 years and this is phase one. Out of the 169 houses, 33 are already vacant and 108 of the remaining householders have now approached the council to say they want to sell their properties.

"Whitefield was named the 19th worst ward in England out of 8000 and it is important that the council does something about that."

The Council was given the opportunity last month to access up to £4million during the next three years under the Government's Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to improve health and housing, and reduce crime in the most deprived areas of the borough, including Nelson West.