Max Steinberg has a passion for what he insists on calling Pennine Lancashire. As chief executive of Elevate, he is on a 10 to 15-year mission to rid the former textile areas of Blackburn, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Rossendale of their legacy of poor housing.

Over the past three years, he has attracted £167 million of Government funding in what he himself describes as the biggest job in regeneration in Britain. Editor Andrew Calvert went to meet the affable Liverpudlian to check on progress.

Steinberg’s office could not be more symbolic of his mission. He is based at the Globe Centre in Accrington, converted from an historic, redundant engineering complex which once provided thousands of jobs. It is close to the rows of terraced homes that were built for the workers, but have steadily crumbled into decay.

Pennine Lancashire has thousands of these, mainly two-up two-down, houses, almost a quarter of which are classed as unfit for habitation, while a similar amount are in a state of disrepair.

These properties are at the heart of Steinberg’s role to transform the fortunes of Pennine Lancashire.

Elevate East Lancashire was set up by the Government to tackle the chronic housing problems endemic in the area. It was charged with finding innovative solutions to the problems of low demand, negative equity and housing market collapse in its old mill towns.

It is concentrating its efforts on the inner urban areas of Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington, Church, Clayton-le-Moors, Burnley, Brierfield, Nelson, Colne, Bacup and Stacksteads. Of the 85,000 properties in the area, two-thirds are terraced, most with just two bedrooms.

While Elevate’s focus is clearly on housing, Steinberg sees a much wider picture. His is a transformational agenda which embraces the wider regeneration of East Lancashire.

He sees Elevate’s investment alongside the money being poured into schools, higher education, health and transport as the key to unlock the area’s potential.

“That kind of investment hasn’t been seen for generations,” he said. “The economy in East Lancashire has been in decline for the past 40 years and it is still under-performing. However, I strongly believe that the area’s time has come.”

One thing which struck Steinberg when he arrived was the lack of image that the area presented to outside investors. “When I brought people into the area I asked what they knew about it,” he said. “Some would say Blackburn Rovers or Burnley Football Club but most never mentioned the countryside and the heritage. We have some fantastic natural assets, but we don’t promote them.”

Steinberg called in the brash Mancunian journalist Anthony Wilson and his partner Yvette Livesey to “think outside the box” and come up with ways to promote East Lancashire.

Their report “Dreaming of a Pennine Lancashire” caused quite a stir, calling for a new name for the sub-region and a host of measures to play to its strengths and use sport and culture to promote its image.

Elevate has now reappointed Livesey and Wilson to take their plans on to the next stage and assess their viability. Concepts include a fashion tower, football theme park, extreme sports centre, new public spaces in town centres and canalside living.

“Physical renovation work, remodelling and rebuilding of homes and neighbourhoods alone cannot transform East Lancashire’s housing market,” said Steinberg. “The importance of re-invigorating the area’s image is vital.

“This was recognised by Dreaming of Pennine Lancashire, which stimulated thought and provoked discussion around which ideas would help us change the way the area is seen. The time has come to start translating some of Livesey and Wilson’s ideas into fact and we have selected the same team to undertake “Pennine Lancashire Phase II – “Dream into reality”.

On the housing front, Steinberg is proud of what Elevate has achieved with its local authority partners. In the past three-and-a-half years 2,500 homes have been refurbished, 850 properties demolished and neighbourhood management initiatives introduced throughout the area.

“There are clear successes on the ground,” he said. “I can take you to Whitefield in Nelson, Bank Top in Blackburn and West Accrington where you can see physical and environmental improvements which have led to rising house prices.”

Work done by Elevate has acted as a catalyst for private sector investment. Steinberg says that 750 new homes have been built in the pathfinder area, with around 4,000 more expected over the next decade.

“At the moment, we are looking at the strong possibility of £100 million of private investment coming to Accrington,” he said. “That comes on the back of £12 million of Elevate investment. Three to four years ago that would have been impossible.”

Born in Liverpool, Steinberg is a career civil servant. The quick wit of a natural Liverpudlian masks a sharp intellect which has seen him rise through the ranks to become one of the country’s leading experts on housing issues.

He is no stranger to tough jobs and was part of the team brought into Liverpool by Michael Heseltine after the Toxteth riots. He was previously director of investment and regeneration for the Housing Corporation’s Northern Field where he was responsible for a £200 million annual budget.

Steinberg sees parallels between Merseyside and Pennine Lancashire. He believes the area can learn from the transformation of the city and bring its town centres back to life.

“We now have the infrastructure to create places in our towns for both residents and visitors,” he said. “We need to create a climate of confidence so that private money can come in.”

Elevate has not been without its critics, particularly when compulsory purchase orders have been issued to allow for homes to be demolished. He admits to being sympathetic to the plight of individuals in well-maintained homes which are surrounded by dereliction.

He said loans of up to £30,000 were now available on top of statutory payments to enable home owners to buy elsewhere. “There are some very difficult decisions to make, but that is why we have been brought in,” he added.

Steinberg is also aware of dissenting voices from some Lancashire building contractors which have failed to secure work on the Elevate programme. They accuse the organisation of making the tendering process too complicated for smaller players and handing contracts to national firms.

“We made it clear at the outset that we would be making long-term funding arrangements with contractors,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that firms could meet our targets. Some will say that the process was complicated but the process was necessary to make sure we got the best result for Pennine Lancashire. I make no apologies for setting the benchmark high.”

Elevate has £49 million to spend this year, after which time it will have to go back to the Government. Steinberg is confident that the programme will go its full course: “We have always envisaged a 10 to 15 year programme and all the indications I have had from ministers and senior civil servants is that the programme will continue.