Housing action plans will help Blackpool's most deprived neighbourhoods

The council has received £285,000 from the Community Housing Fund with some additional cash coming from match funding.

It will be used to create urban plans for Claremont and Revoe with the main focus being on providing affordable quality housing.

Communities themselves will be involved in the decision-making processes.

A council report says: "The funding will be used to assist communities within the most deprived areas of the town to develop masterplans for their areas."

This could include converting existing buildings into homes, or transforming derelict sites into residential areas.

Revoe, which straddles Central Drive, sits between two key investment sites - the Foxhall Village housing scheme and the Blackpool Central leisure development on Central Car Park.

The report says the area "faces significant social and economic issues" but there are opportunities to work with the community through the RevoeLution partnership.

In Claremont, a steering group has been set up as part of the Blackpool Pride of Place partnership which has identified Egerton Square as an area which could benefit from a housing and regeneration plan.

The report says: "Currently Egerton Square faces high levels of anti-social behaviour including drug dealing, and prostitution, and the majority of the commercial units are empty.

"There is potential, working with the Magic Club, to create a mixed use

community and residential development here which this master planning exercise could scope out."

The Magic Club has been recently set up to provide activities for children and young people in the area.

Funding will also be used to create more green spaces for families living in areas of dense housing.

Blackpool Council has entered into a funding agreement with Homes England for the project, with urban planners Lambert Smith Hampton appointed as the main consultant for Claremont and GL Hearn appointed to deliver the Revoe project.