WEAR Valley District Council has approved a funding bid which could see two communities given a £40m makeover.
Coundon and Tow Law could each get more than £20m-worth of improvements if the bid, for money set aside to regenerate former mining towns, is successful.
The cash, from the National Coalfields Programme, would be spent upgrading housing and public spaces in the two communities - which are among the most deprived in the district.
The council's housing committee has agreed Coundon should be top priority for the investment, with Tow Law earmarked for a second stage of improvements.
Consultants had suggested 92 homes in Coundon should be pulled down. However, plans have changed and the houses will now be maintained.
If the funding bid is successful, final decisions on how to spend the money could be made by spring 2009. Residents of both communities would be consulted before such decisions are made.
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