Council house tenants are to benefit from a range of improvements as part of a £5m investment programme.

Councillors in Chester-le-Street have agreed to invest the money in council houses across the district.

Schemes have been planned including window, door, kitchen, bathroom and lift replacements and the installation of central heating.

Portfolio holder for housing Councillor Isabel Smith said: "By agreeing this expenditure, the council is making a real and tangible commitment to improve the lives of all its tenants and residents.

"Housing has always been a top priority for the council, so we are literally putting our money where our mouths are to ensure that the wider community benefits from this programme."

Tenants and residents with disabilities will also be catered for and more than £500,000 has been earmarked for the appropriate adaptations to their homes.

Less visible schemes will include drainage and environmental works.

An extra £160,000 will go towards the COSY scheme that will directly benefit 2,000 energy inefficient private households.

Assistance will include physical measures such as cavity wall and loft insulation as well as packages of advisory and educational material.

Councillor Martin Golland said: "It is about improving both the access to and the quality of the council's services so that our communities receive them in a way that is both convenient and efficient."

The schemes are also designed to improve life for residents while they are out and about in the district.

In Chester-le-Street town centre the car parks will be resurfaced and the signs upgraded.

Across the district, cash will allocated to improve community play areas for youngsters and 14 new bus shelters will be installed.

At Bournmoor, the footpath across the river is to be replaced while the gymnasium at Chester-le-Street Leisure Centre will be extended and improved.

Plans are under way to redevelop the Mechanics' Institute in Chester-le-Street as an integrated enterprise and learning centre.