As part of the Communities Plan proposals, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott yesterday announced £86 million over two years for the Merseyside housing market renewal pathfinder and £69 million for the Newcastle-Gateshead pathfinder.

The government wants to close the ‘north-south divide and says that northern regions could be £30bn a year better off and an extra 200,000 jobs could be created if their economic performance rose to the English average.

John Prescot also outlined plans for a new ‘northern growth corridor’ to help lever in new investment and boost the north as an economic force in Europe. A further study on growth corridors in the Midlands is expected later in the year.

Welcoming the news, English Partnerships’ Chairman, Margaret Ford, said: "The Sustainable Communities Plan has been hugely important in helping to bring a focus and direction to the regeneration of many of our towns and cities and delivering very real benefits for people across the country.”

"English Partnerships enthusiastically endorses the government’s commitment to sustainability. One year on from the start of the Plan, the achievements have been significant with many projects well underway and communities being transformed into places where people want to live and work.”

"This ambitious package is a real step forward in terms of energy and commitment and English Partnerships will play a full part in realising this ambition. The vision is deliverable and we are more than ready to do it."

English Partnerships will continue to work in close collaboration with its partners in the Regional Development Agencies, the Housing Corporation, local authorities and the private sector by utilising its expertise in land remediation, site assembly and development to speed up the delivery of the plan.

Current English Partnerships programmes such as Urban Regeneration Companies, Millennium Communities and the National Coalfields Programme have been identified in the plan as key delivery mechanisms in creating sustainable communities.