STAMP Duty on properties worth up to £150,000 is to be scrapped in a deprived part of Chorley to boost investment.

Chorley East ward has been identified by the Government as one of more than 1,200 of the most disadvantaged areas in England.

Business and residential properties will benefit from the move by Chancellor Gordon Brown, revealed in a pre-budget report.

Welcoming the announcement, regeneration minister Lord Falconer said: "This is great news for businesses and homeowners in some of our poorest areas. It will encourage both to locate and thrive in wards that need investment. This is the final piece in a comprehensive jigsaw of fiscal measures set out in the Urban White Paper aimed at breathing new life into deprived areas across the country.

"These measures, worth £1 billion over five years, provide a strong signal that this government is committed to improving the social economic and physical conditions of our most disadvantaged communities."

Chorley's Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle welcomed the announcements, which also included more cash for the NHS, pension increases and abolition of tax on football pools. He said: "The economy has performed well with our growth rates remaining the same and unemployment being the lowest for 30 years. Pensioners benefit with the Chancellor pledging to increase the basic state pension next April by £3 for single pensioners and £4.50 for couples, with a pledge of an increase on the basic state pension of at least £100 a year for single pensioners and £160 a year for couples. The announcement on a reduction in capital gains tax and corporation tax coupled with a reduction in red tape will be welcomed by local businesses in Chorley and I look forward to these measures being implemented next April."