A MULTI-million pound effort to rejuvenate and improve the housing market across the region has been announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott.

The funding is part of the drive to put housing at the heart of sustainable communities, and much of the money will be allocated to local authorities over the next two years.

A total of £170m will go to the North-East while £285m has been confirmed for Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The money is being invested through Regional Housing Boards set up earlier this year, and will help meet the strategies they were established to produce.

The chairman of the North-East board, Jonathan Blackie, said the funding confirmed that its ideas were effective, innovative and sustainable.

He said: "Everyone in the North-East deserves the opportunity to live in decent, affordable housing within lively communities offering modern services and facilities."

Almost 55 per cent of the local authority housing stock in the North-East falls below the "decent home" standard, and improving that is one of the aims of the regional strategy.

Other aims include developing housing to meet 21st-Century demands, meeting the requirements from the growth of households and people's aspirations, and addressing needs in the community.

The Yorkshire Regional Housing Board is chaired by Felicity Everiss, who said it had risen to the challenge set down in Mr Prescott's sustainable communities plan.

She said: "We have a strong strategy in place with an emphasis on quality and delivery and on directing resources where they can make a real difference."

The Yorkshire programme will give priority to rural housing projects and schemes linked to the region's Market Towns Initiative.

It will also prioritise affordable housing in areas where there is a shortage.