Directors from a £47 million project to revitalise deprived housing estates have reassured residents much of their work would continue after the money runs out.

Fears have been expressed that, when eb4u's ten-year tenure is over in 2010, all the community projects it has funded would have to end.

The Government decided this year to withhold some of eb4u's funding, meaning the organisation has been forced to cap funding for 40 community projects and stop funding for many more.

Many organisations are finding they cannot survive and questions have been raised over their long-term funding after 2010.

But eb4u director Paul Allen said yesterday he hoped agencies such as the police and health trusts and other mainstream organisations would take over funding.

The police have already taken over the funding of a sergeant which eb4u had initially funded and Sussex Police is offering to support a second sergeant.

eb4u says the health service is also likely to take over the funding of a smoking cessation worker for the area.

Mr Allen was speaking at a meeting with fellow directors and a scrutiny panel set up by the city council to investigate eb4u's performance.

Members of the scrutiny panel raised questions about the organisation's finances, sustainability, relationship with the community and its recent controversial decision to pull funding from key projects in east Brighton.

eb4u director Sean Hambrook said the Government had announced its capping in early last month, which allowed just a few weeks to decide which projects would be capped and by how much.