A RESTORED park has been transformed into a youngster-friendly zone, in an attempt to clamp down on the levels of anti-social behaviour in the area.

More than £20,000 has been spent on new facilities in North Park, in Darlington, to make it a safe area for young people to congregate.

Complaints are often levelled by residents in the area, who claim there is a lack of youth provision which leads to nuisance behaviour from a minority of teenagers.

When the regeneration project in North Park got under way last year, scores of young people came forward with their views on what facilities they believed were needed.

As a result, thousands of pounds were spent installing a shelter for youths to congregate, several park benches, and a games and activity area.

Even in the few weeks they have been there, residents living nearby have said there has been a notable decrease in youngsters congregating on street corners.

Councillor Steve Jones, chairman of the Friends of North Park group which is overseeing the regeneration project, said the facilities had already been well-used.

"It is proving very popular, which is nice to see," he said. "The shelter is in constant use, and the young people who have been using it say their friends want to come along as well, and they want another shelter putting up.

"The activity area and climbing frames are also in constant use, and there are a lot of teenagers use the benches on a night. Hopefully, during the holidays, there will be a lot of them using the park during the day as well.

"Quite a few people have said they've noticed the youths are not hanging around on the street corners any more.

"It is a safe place for them to go, it is covered by CCTV cameras, and they can all be together without worrying about bothering anyone."

Coun Jones said future projects for the park include creating a community garden and kick-starting the regeneration of the bandstand.

"In our first year, the Friends group has achieved their aims of getting the park project under way, and making it a good place for youths to go," he said.

"Hopefully, we can continue making it a place where people want to go."