Beeston, the south Leeds district that became the unwelcome focus of the world's attention following the July 7, 2005 attacks, is now quietly focusing on the future away from the glare of the spotlights.

Yesterday Leeds Council officials responsible for the area said that a combination of community activity and big-money investment was the key to reducing tension.

On the ground, youth workers from the predominantly Muslim community said they believed Beeston will only turn the corner when its young people are better trained and more politically aware.

Over the last six years Leeds Council has applied for large-scale Government housing stock funding four times – and has now been told it is "likely" to receive £92m in the next month.

That money will be used to transform the area and first to go, according to South Leeds area manager Dave Richmond, will be the unsightly and dilapidated tower blocks on Holbeck Moor.

He said: "We'll take out some of the really poor quality housing stock in the area. It will make a significant difference to the area, people will see a physical change.

"At the end of the day, Beeston Hill will never be the most affluent area of Leeds, but people will notice a real difference and that will help with community cohesion."

People are beginning to take more pride in their community, with the Beeston In Bloom group recently winning a silver medal in a national scheme to find the village or suburb with the best use of flowers.

On the ground, community groups have started a series of new projects to engage with the Asian community in the wake of the terrorist attacks, with many concentrating on young people susceptible to the lure of extremism.

"Beeston is a poor area but it has a lot of very active community groups," said Mr Richmond. "For example local residents are taking over the former Hillside Primary School (where 7/7 ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan worked) and will run it as a community enterprise centre to help people start small businesses.

"Another grassroot initiative has seen new teaching staff placed in every primary school in the area to help parents both support their children and learn new skills themselves."

At the end of next month, South Leeds School will find out if it has won a prestigious local government award for its conflict classes, which so far has seen about 160 teenage pupils learn how to diffuse tensions and act as peer leaders.

A similar project is now running with Muslim students of university age, 10 of whom are undertaking a new qualification created to make them into community ambassadors.

Its co-ordinator Mohammed Kamran, youth development worker at Beeston's Hamara Centre, said: "After the attacks about 150 young Muslims were asked how they felt their lives could be improved.

"They said they wanted to be better skilled, understand how to engage in politics, handle conflict resolution, help improve community cohesion, be better at public speaking so they could become effective spokespeople for their community, and learn leadership skills.

"They want to be involved in the community but don't feel they have the skills. This course will give them a community mindset."

Mr Kamran said the problems in Beeston were not much different from those on run-down mostly-white estates like Gipton and that the "moderate majority" of residents were far more concerned with paying next month's bills than they were about religious extremism.

"Look around Beeston and you'll see social poverty, poor standards of education and health," he said. "The problem here is not so much about the money, it's about equality of opportunity.

"If people feel they have some life chances, an equal share of the pie, it will dramatically reduce tensions. It's about seeing people as equals – that they can get jobs based on merit."