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It will ask for 拢100m, a fifth of what is available. The other eight pathfinders have not submitted full bids, but all but one of them did meet Monday's deadline to hand in applications for preliminary housing schemes (see table, below). About 拢60m has been allocated to get projects off the ground in the first year of the programme (HT 4 April, page 8).

Chris Hulme, secretary to the Manchester and Salford Market Renewal Partnership, said: "Manchester and Salford will this week be submitting its full initial bid to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the restructuring and renewal scheme.

It is a substantial bid for funding over three years."

Derek Martin, assistant director of housing at Manchester council, said he was confident the pathfinder would receive the sum because the bid had been negotiated all the way with the ODPM.

This will raise concerns at the other pathfinders that Manchester and Salford could receive more than its share of government money. The official line from the ODPM is that the application process is not a race. But a department source said: "[Manchester's] aspiration is to be first and they've been pulling out all the stops to ensure that they are."

Of the other pathfinders, only Humberside has not applied for any cash, because the ODPM has yet to confirm its pathfinder status.

When announcing the bids received for the 拢60m, the government said only Manchester and Salford, Merseyside and Newcastle Gateshead's programmes were sufficiently far advanced to receive more than 拢4m. However, Newcastle has decided to bid for just 拢4m anyway.

Some of the less advanced schemes, including the South Yorkshire and North Staffordshire pathfinders, have bid over the odds in case the government relaxes its spending regime.

Merseyside pathfinder refused to give details of the bid it had submitted.