CHURCHES in Burnley are set to share in a £5million initiative to bring different faith communities closer together.

No fewer than eight parishes in the borough will benefit from their involvement in the Near Neighbours programme, supported by the Church Urban Fund and Archbishops’ Council.

St Andrew with St Margaret’s, at Duke Bar, where the Burnley riots developed in 2001, is among those involved in the venture.

Grants of up to £5,000 can be applied for to promote greater understanding between people from different ethnic backgrounds.

One Burnley charity, Faiths4Change, has already been awarded this amount, and is working to tackle fuel and general poverty in Danes-house.

Bi-lingual focus groups will be set up, involving 45 women, offering help and advice to low-income househol-ds.

Launching the scheme, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the proj- ect marked the ‘next chapter’ in the ‘proud and unbroken tradition’ of faith groups ‘giving back to local communities’.

“They enrich their neighbourhoods. and improve the lives of those around them. through practical action,” he said.

“Too often communities that live side by side don’t get together as often as they could to discuss and tackle the issues and challenges that matter to them most.”

Other parishes involved in Near Neighbours include St Catherine’s, St Cuthbert’s, St Mark’s, St Peter’s, St Stephen’s, St Matthew’s, and St Leonard’s at Padiham.

Other areas of the country involved in the community coh-esion effort include Bradford, Oldham, Leicester and bor-oughs in Birmingham and London.