A MULTI-MILLION pound regeneration project in Darlington is gathering pace and the community is being invited to get involved.

The £5.5m regeneration of the Red Hall estate began in January and now demolition work involving 56 homes in the Courts being cleared to make way for new builds is almost complete.

Work has also started on building around 40 new homes on the estate at an additional cost of more than £5m.

Furthermore, hundreds of existing properties will receive new double glazing, doors, and external cladding.

Pauline Mitchell, Darlington Borough Council’s assistant director for housing, described the project as “really ambitious and very exciting” and encouraged Red Hall residents to get involved in shaping the estate's future.

She urged residents to apply for a share of £25,000 of funding for projects that will enhance the lives of council tenants.

“It’s not just about the physical changes to the houses, yes, they will be much better and more energy efficient and people can have a real say in how their house will look, but it’s also about building on the excellent foundations in place already and empowering the community even more," said Ms Mitchell.

“We want the people who live there, the community, to be actively involved in the future plans for the estate.

“We want them to be part of it as it takes shape, so we’re going to be working with a local community organisation to help people get the skills to get a job and work on the estate as it changes and give the people who live there more say in what happens in the future.

“Even though work has just started and will be going on for the next couple of years, we want people to get involved and come up with their own ideas too.

“And to help those ideas become a reality, they can apply to the council’s community fund for as many projects as they can develop, with the chance to win up £1,000 for each idea.”

To apply to The Community Fund, visit darlington.gov.uk or contact 01325 405952/53 before the deadline of June 5, 2015.