A MULTI-million pound scheme to improve rundown areas and town centres is on schedule to reach its target.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has identified Nine Priority Projects across the area that will benefit from investment.

The schemes were identified by councillors and community groups in 2015 and a report to cabinet detailed progress in each of the areas including improving town centres, providing more support to schools and helping vulnerable people.

Other projects focus on schemes designed to improve the environment in local areas and every scheme has borough-wide significance.

Councillor Sue Jeffrey, leader of the council, said: “These are important projects that really can have a positive impact on people’s lives. It is pleasing to see this progress, but there’s still work to do and we continue to focus on making more improvements.”

The Nine Priority Projects are: Redcar Town Centre which includes an on-going public consultation on how to spend £1 million made available by the council for the town centre; Eston Centre which has included improvements to the shopping precinct and square; Ethical Care Charter for vulnerable adults services; Harwal Road Flats improvements, which sees the Redcar project improve heating and remove rubbish; The Cleaner Borough initiative which aims to create a cleaner, safer and greener community; Boosbeck Abattoir, which involved the council facilitating the sale of the abattoir site in the east Cleveland village and selling some of its own land to a housing developer in return for assurances the site will never again be used as a slaughterhouse; Achievement in Secondary Schools which has included the Education Improvement Partnership; Mitigating the Effects of Welfare Cuts which has included providing personal budget support to claimants; Governance improvements include examining how the council can help communities through Neighbourhood Action Partnerships.

The progress in the Nine Priority Project areas has also won support outside of the council.

New owner of the flats on Harwal Road in Redcar, Mr Annis Rafiq said: “Our objective is to make Harwal Road a happy and thriving community. We’ve established a good dialogue with the council and other partner agencies and we’re making improvements.”

Anthony Armstrong, company director at Go Mobile which has a phone shop on Redcar High Street, said: “I absolutely agree with improving the town centre and we’ve taken part in the consultation. Town centres are changing but there’s a lot of potential in Redcar and I think it is right for the council to be proactive.”

And Marshall Best, chairman of the Loftus Accord Walking Group and secretary of the Friends of Loftus Cemetery, said: “Litter picks and clean up events can have a galvanising effect on residents concerned about waste and litter. They bring people together and that can have a long term positive impact.”