Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: Following the Government 's pledge to a build 25 new tram networks by 2010 , a Â # 1 billion bid for a Government grant was launched by Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council in 2002 to expand the tram network to include St Annes to the south and new housing estates in Fleetwood to the north , with a possible further phase to include links to Poulton-Le-Fylde and Thornton .
Simplified: A Â # 1 billion bid for a Government grant was made in 2002 by Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council after the Government made a pledge to build 25 new tram networks by 2010 . They want to expand the tram network to include St Annes to the south and new housing estates in Fleetwood to the north .