Government investment into one of Northumberland's most deprived towns is set to top £90m after the latest tranche of levelling up funding was approved.
The county council's cabinet voted unanimously to accept £20.7m from the Government to improve housing stock in Blyth.
It follows on from the existing £70m Energising Blyth programme as the council and Government look to "grow, renew and connect" the town.
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The money will be used to regenerate run-down housing, as well as improving residents' access to jobs, tackle anti-social behaviour, reduce retail crime and increase skills training. Run-down and empty homes will be repurposed into "high-quality affordable housing" to rent, while under-occupied offices will be converted into housing.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the council's cabinet, leader Glen Sanderson added: "I think it is incredible what has been achieved in Blyth - but yesterday I decided I would go and have a look at some of the housing in Blyth.
"It is not acceptable to have some of the housing that we have. That has been the case for many years and we're going to do something about it. We must tackle some of the appalling housing situations and get them sorted."
Coun Sanderson added the amount of money coming into Northumberland from central Government was "the highest it has ever been".
Funding will also be used to support a new empty homes team with powers of enforcement, to tackle the issue of empty homes in Blyth. A total of £1.5m of the latest round of money will go into funding new, high-tech training equipment at the much lauded Energy Central Campus, in order to provide young people a route to high-quality jobs being created in the clean energy sector locally.
A further £200,000 will be used to fund the "Welcoming and Safe Blyth" initiative to reduce crime, extending CCTV in the town centre and establishing a new partnership with Northumbria Police. All of the new projects will be delivered between 2023 and 2026.
