The Northamptonshire town of Corby is set to double in size under an ambitious programme of urban regeneration.

The �4bn Regeneration Framework for the borough was unveiled in the House of Lords by Baroness Billington on Tuesday.

The programme is the work of Catalyst Corby, the first urban regeneration partnership to be set up in the UK along government guidelines issued in 2000.

Chief executive Bob Lane said: "The end result will be a sustainable new town offering expanded opportunities across education, employment, retail, leisure and housing."

Low wages

Corby was a booming steel town until 1980, when the works closed.

Although the local economy has diversified into manufacturing and light engineering, the workforce remains generally low-waged.

Catalyst Corby brings together local authorities with businesses such as town centre property owners Tops Estates plc, and steel company Corus.

Its programme covers the next 20 years, but a five-year plan to revitalise the town centre will begin immediately.

The partnership wants to see the population of the borough eventually doubled to 100,000.

It hopes to build about 28,000 new homes to accommodate the influx, as well as to restore existing properties.

The plans will be on public display over the next week in Corby's shopping centre.