A Darlington park is poised for renovation thanks to a National Lottery windfall.

North Lodge Park, near Gladstone Street, will have £265,000 spent on improvements.

Although visitors to the park will be asked for their views on what the money should be spent on, it is believed some of it will be used to install closed-circuit television to improve security.

The rest of the money could be used to create new play areas, cycle paths and teenagers' leisure facilities, as well as restoring some of the park's historic features.

The money has come from the New Opportunities Fund's Transforming Your Space England initiative which aims to make parks safer, healthier, cleaner and greener.

Darlington Borough Council has until August 31 to decide how the money will be spent. A detailed plan will then go to the New Opportunities Fund for approval.

Before the plan is submitted, the council wants to talk to the people who already use the park or would visit it in the future. Public meetings will be held and questionnaires sent out to find out what facilities people want to see. It is hoped the work will be finished by the new year.

Darlington attracted the funding under the Fair Share lottery allocation, which aims to give more money to places which have previously not benefited from their share of lottery funds. The work at North Lodge park coincides with a similar project at South Park in the town.

Work on that area, which is to begin in the next few weeks, will return the park to its Victorian splendour, with some modern additions.

Leader of Darlington Borough Council John Williams said: "It's great news for the town that as well as the South Park restoration project, which is due to start soon, we can look forward to another Darlington park being refurbished in the near future.

"People have told us what they want in the town and we are working to provide it."