MORE than 40 per cent of people in East Lancashire feel the local economy is in decline, according to a survey by business leaders.

The finding comes despite Blackburn with Darwen being voted North West Capital of Enterprise, hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on housing, and widespread expansion of business parks.

Today Sally Turnbull, development manager at the Lancashire Economic Partnership, which commissioned the survey, said she believed deep-rooted stereotypes could be to blame.

She said: "Often people tend to focus on bad news, rather than good news. People always remember when a factory closes and jobs are lost, but don't always remember when a new company springs up and creates hundreds of jobs and brings investment.

"There are a lot of things to celebrate in East Lancashire and sometimes people let their perceptions get in the way of what is really happening."

The Living and Working in East Lancashire survey, which interviewed almost 3,000 East Lancashire residents, also found:

l Fewer than 10per cent feel their neighbourhood has a strong economy

l Fewer than a third feel it has good shopping facilities

l Fewer than 20per cent feel they can influence decisions in their area.

However, the survey found evidence of strong community belonging in East Lancashire and a stable population.

It found:

l More than 70per cent of respondents feel they belong to their neighbourhood, rising to 80per cent of Asian origin respondents

l Almost 60per cent feel people in their neighbourhood know and would help one another, with fewer than 15per cent disagreeing

l Only 10per cent said they intend to move away from East Lancashire in the next five years.

The survey was commissioned by the Partnership, and Elevate, the company set up to renovate housing in East Lancashire.

Questionnaires were sent to 5,695 people across East Lancashire's six boroughs, with 2,917 responding.

Dennis Taylor, chief executive of the Lancashire Economic Partnership, said: "The information gained through this will be used to help in our planning, and to ensure that East Lancashire is seen as a great place to invest in, live, work, and visit."