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The Cheetham and Broughton Regeneration Initiative is in the fourth year of a ?25m programme and has so far spent 26% of the fund and is set to reach its spending peak next year.

Key regeneration areas of Cheetham Village, Greenhill Road and Huxley Avenue, Temple and Queens Road, Cheetwood and the Strangeways employment area have received most cash and attention.

The programme depends on the Queen's Road project, which is due to deliver more than ?20m private sector investment and create at least 500 jobs by the end of the initiative's lifetime.

Progress has also been made on flagship investment schemes such as Temple School and the Queen's Road non-food retail park as well as improving private sector housing in Huxley Avenue and Queens Road.

But the Cheetham Village programme suffered a blow when a supermarket pulled out of negotiations forcing planners to go back to the drawing board on plans for the district shopping centre.

Problems remain over repair work and maintenance of the church tower at St Luke's graveyard after an application for Heritage Lottery funds was turned down.

Programme managers have now agreed to shift the emphasis to ensure residents benefit from training and employment in the local area and across the regional centre.

In a report to Manchester City Council's executive committee, SRB co-ordinator Shelagh McNerney admitted job creation and private sector investment continue to be the most difficult targets to meet.

A survey showed low levels of education attainment in the area with over 60% having no qualifications at all and the partnership aims to address these issues in the next three years.

Ms McNerney said: "The regeneration activities in Cheetham and parts of Crumpsall are now well advanced with clear visible impact as a result of an integrated housing and environmental strategy.

"The biggest challenge for the partnership is to link the investment in the physical fabric of the area and the investment in targeted services in the area to clear employment and training benefits for residents.

"This will be the focus for the final three years of the SRB initiative. The emphasis in Year 5 needs to be on quality and impact on the local economy and the ability of residents to access the benefits and opportunities offered by an improved local economy."