Unprecedented resources will soon be available to a County Durham authority to spend on regenerating depressed areas.

Sedgefield Borough Council chiefs conservatively estimate that housing land sales will generate £25m over the next two or three years.

With matched funding the final figure could be much higher - and the council has promised that every pound will be spent in the borough. The cash boost means that the council's regeneration budget, which currently stands at £500,000 a year, will increase ten-fold in the first year.

The unexpected windfall is possible because house prices have risen dramatically in recent years.

But the cost of building has not changed, which leaves the land-owner as a major beneficiary.

The council has already sold a plot of land for a substantial sum, with the prospect of more to come.

In order to hit the ground running, the council is setting up an extra department to ensure the projects are carried out as quickly as possible. Because regeneration is such a wide area, these could be anything from large scale housing projects, to smaller schemes like introducing CCTV cameras, establishing playgrounds or helping town centre markets.

Leader of the council Bob Fleming is keen to ensure that the money is spent on projects people actually want.

He has already started consulting with town and parish councils within the borough and wants the council's area forums and citizens network to play a major part.

Coun Fleming said: "Rather than the council turning round and saying we want to do certain things, we want the people in those areas to tell us what they want to see."

Director of resources Brian Allen, who has worked at the authority since it was established, broke the news to members at a full council meeting today.

He said: "The council is 30-years-old this year and in all that time we've never had this level of resources available to council members to deliver real change.

"I'm really trying to contain my excitement, because accountants shouldn't get excited about this kind of thing.

"But this does provide an unprecedented opportunity to make a real difference across the borough."