Critics of a project given £48 million to transform some of the county's poorest communities claim it has made little difference to their lives.

eb4U was set up five years ago by the Government and given until 2010 to regenerate east Brighton, where low pay and social deprivation are more prevalent than elsewhere in the city.

Criticism of its management prompted the city council to order an investigation into how it has spent its money. Speakers at a second public meeting yesterday accused eb4U of being bureaucratic and ineffective, not listening to residents' views and wasting millions of pounds of public money.

Hamish Mackenzie, from Moulsecoomb, said: "The whole idea was to empower residents to change their lives. When the money runs out there will not be any difference. We will go back to exactly what we were before and that's why the residents aren't interested anymore.

To me, eb4u has wasted £47.2 million of public money which could have made such a difference to the estate."

Mr Mackenzie listed a number of projects requested by the public which had been modified or cancelled without consultation, including a CCTV scheme in North Moulsecoomb and a drop-in centre in Barcombe Road, Brighton, which never came to fruition.

He said residents on steering groups deciding how to spend eb4U cash were being manoeuvred and manipulated. Mr Mackenzie said: "eb4u are making residents think they are being listened to when they are being manoeuvred and manipulated."

Maggie Smeeth told a panel of five Brighton and Hove city councillors, she had been a resident of Whitehawk for 39 years.

Mrs Smeeth said she and her neighbours had supported eb4u activities when it was launched.

But she added: "We thought we were making a difference and then it got to three years and I suddenly realised we had become puppets.

"We weren't listened to and that's why a lot of us have all walked away from eb4u."

Mrs Smeeth said the organisation had wasted money sending people on "freebies" such as a trip to Legoland in Windsor and on changing its name from New Deal for Communities to eb4u.

The three-and-a-half hour meeting, at the Valley Social Centre, Whitehawk, Brighton, heard from Tony Greenstein, of the Brighton and Hove Unemployed Workers' Centre, who accused eb4U of "over-inflated bureaucracy".

He criticised the £250,000 spent on the organisation's Press office.

The panel also heard from Philip Hickman, a resident involved in the Manor Road Gym, which was promised £800,000 for refurbishments ended up getting £100,000.

He said: "We've never been told what happened to the budget.

People spent three years of their lives working on this project."

Crew Club manager Darren Snow, former city councillor Mo Marsh and board member Michael Stimson gave evidence highlighting the positive work provided by the organisation, which works in Whitehawk, Moulsecoomb, Saunders Park, Bates Estate and Manor Farm.

A further meeting will take place at Moulsecoomb Hall, Lewes Road, on Wednesday, May 4, at 1.30pm.

April 27, 2005