COUNCILLORS have given their approval for money to be spent on improving two areas of Wear Valley.

Members of Wear Valley District Council's community services committee rubber-stamped £362,295 for Crook and £84,136 for Hunwick, on Wednesday.

The money, raised from deals with developers, will be spent on leisure facilities, including a £108,000 play area in Thistleflat.

Work will also be carried out at Glenholme Leisure Centre, the park and play area and the bowling club, as well as at Crook Town Football Club and the cricket club.

Crook South councillor Geoff Mowbray said: "They are going to be very good things for the town and the people who live in - and outside - the ward."

Councillor Olive Brown said: "There's been a lot of community involvement in these things, especially in the Thistleflat area, where people really got involved."

In Hunwick, the play area will be replaced and a five-a-side pitch created, water and electrical services to the cricket club will be renewed, and there will be a tree planting programme.

Councillor David Nevins, who worked with Hunwick Community Association and Groundwork South Durham and Darlington on a feasibility study, hailed it as a prime example of people working together.