Three inner city communities - not one - will benefit if the Government grants Bradford the £50 million it is seeking under the New Deal, it has been revealed.

The cash will be used to boost parts of West Bowling and Marshfields as well as Park Lane, Little Horton - among the district's most deprived areas.

Details of the bid which will land on ministers' desks this week reveal that the area covers stretches between Little Horton Lane and Manchester Road, as well as substantial parts of West Bowling, on the other side of Manchester Road.

The Council is hoping for between £20 million and £50 million to stimulate investment, jobs and prosperity in the run-down area.

Four main objectives identified by local people are:

Increasing job opportunities - especially for the long-term unemployed.

Improving the health of the local population which currently has a higher mortality rate than the district average.

New education initiatives to tackle poor achievement by local youngsters: only 12.3 per cent of children get five GCSE passes compared with a national average of 46.3 per cent

Crime reduction. Last year there were 92 burglaries per 1,000 households, compared to 52 per thousand in the rest of the district.

The Government's regeneration minister, Richard Caborn, went to Little Horton for a fact-finding mission last week to hear directly from local people what improvements they wanted to see.

Council leader Ian Greenwood, who will stand for re-election to his Little Horton seat in May, said: "The minister spent some time listening to the views and ideas of local people and came away with a strong message that the community and Council were as one on finding solutions through partnership.

"Bradford has a good track record in securing regeneration funding to rebuild communities and New Deal gives local people the opportunity to build a better future."

Lil Acklam, chairman of the Triangle and Royal Tenants' Association which represents hundreds of families in Council tower blocks, said: "The New Deal offers the community real hope and by working together we can improve amenities, tackle crime, get people working again and rekindle a community spirit around here."

Charles Forgan, chief executive of Bradford Breakthrough, said: "Spirit and enthusiasm is something local people are not short of, and the Government's New Deal initiative offers the community a fresh start. Bradford Congress fully support this submission."

The Government is expected to give its decision on the outline bid next month, with a final decision likely by July 1999.

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