Towns to benefit from cash windfall

The money has been awarded to Hartlepool and Sunderland under round two of the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme.

It aims to harness the full potential of the community and help people become even more involved in finding solutions to local issues and problems.

Hartlepool was awarded £53.79m and Sunderland £53.89m, to be spent over the next ten years on a range of projects and initiatives.

The cash will be used to tackle unemployment, improve housing and health, increase community development, raise educational standards and cut crime and the fear of crime.

In Hartlepool, the money will be targeted at an area in the centre of town known as West Central, which includes 4,470 homes.

The area, which contains some large commercial zones, including the town centre and an industrial estate, has one of the highest long-term unemployment rates in the country and residential crime rates are far higher than the average for the town.

A delighted Councillor Arthur Preece, leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: "This is tremendous news for the town and it opens the door to a host of exciting opportunities.

"The bid for money was led by local people of all ages, and I salute all their hard work. Yesterday was a very proud day for them."

In Sunderland, the money will be used to help put the East End and Hendon back on a more prosperous footing.

The centre of Sunderland contains large areas of industrial land along the River Wear and the target area includes 9,000 people.

The programme aims to place this area at the centre of the development in Sunderland, and projects include further development of the Hendon Community Policing team, a healthy living campaign, street ranger, and local clean-up campaign.

Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Colin Anderson said: "It is extremely good news because ordinary people are going to be engaged in their own local regeneration and decide where the money goes."