Blackburn: hope springs

Like many northern areas, Blackburn with Darwen has a large Asian population: one-fifth of its residents are of Asian origin.

But it escaped the race riots and tension suffered by neighbouring Burnley in the summer of 2001, and it has a relatively good reputation for community cohesion despite problems with deprivation that have the potential to fuel racial tension.

The council's only BNP candidate changed to an independent last September and the council has proved again and again that it isn't afraid to tackle difficult issues head-on. Most recently, it set up an Islamic state school, despite the Commission for Racial Equality's disapproval (HT 21 May, page 7).

But its efforts have been going on much longer than that, not least in the Belonging Together campaign, which promotes community cohesion. Earlier this year, the council looked into how its money is distributed around different areas and found that 53% of council money went to the 50% most deprived communities across both white and Asian areas. Contrary to far-right propaganda, there was no evidence of any weighting for or against white or Asian communities.

"It was risky," admits the council's executive director of regeneration, Graham Burgess. "But if people saw an issue, we had to investigate."

Blackburn with Darwen council has also led the way in outsourcing by transferring many functions to Capita, a private company. Despite teething problems with housing benefit claims, Burgess says the partnership is now running well. Moreover, the firm has set up its Northern headquarters in Blackburn, bringing much-needed jobs.

But the area has its problems. The traditional industry of the former mill towns has disappeared although the derelict mills still line the roads. It remains the 26th most deprived borough in the country, according to the government's recent index of deprivation, despite being the sixth most improved.

With 4.1% unemployment and 2600 houses in a market renewal area, there is a big job to do. The council transferred its housing stock in March 2001 and has a three-pronged strategy for regeneration.

It has identified major employment areas around the M65 motorway and for the past six years has exceeded its target to bring in 1200 new jobs each year. Local people are given training and helped into work but, as the economy grows, workers will be drawn in from the rest of East Lancashire. This boosts the town centres' retail and hospitality sectors and makes the towns an economic driver for the region.

Meanwhile, in the borough's core, the council is concentrating on £38m-worth of neighbourhood improvements – which is where Elevate East Lancashire, the market renewal pathfinder, comes into play. It has just agreed to fund a £22m programme of clearance and refurbishment over the next two years, which will pull in funding from other sources such as the North-west Development Agency and private investors.

"There will be a strong economic underpinning and we're linking transport with job opportunities and working on the environment. It's a holistic approach," says Burgess. "That's what Blackburn is good at."

The third prong is structural changes, new buildings and a strong push upmarket for the town centre, funded by a North-west Development Agency grant of £13.5m. The council wants to leave discount shops behind and pull in big names and the wealthier customers that go with them.

It looks like the Blackburn of the future will be cosmopolitan, multicultural and go-ahead: a far cry from the dark days of the deprivation index.