AN estate is to undergo a facelift as part of a £1.7m investment to regenerate part of Middlesbrough.

Easterside will get children's play facilities, a refurbished library, a community garden and a landscaped car park.

It is part of two-pronged approach to tackle an area, which was previously blighted by anti-social behaviour, to give young people a sense of pride in their community and make adults and elderly people feel safe when they leave their homes after dark.

Last year, security cameras were installed to monitor youngsters who congregated near shops on the estate. Drinking alcohol in public was also banned.

June Goodchild, chairman of Easterside and Saltersgill Community Council and community representative on the Middlesbrough Partnership, has been campaigning for the regeneration of the area for several years.

She is delighted with funding, which means there will be a link between new Sure Start offices for parents, with young children connected to the library, and a new facility for the whole community to use.

Mrs Goodchild said: "I always knew it would happen eventually but I feel very proud it finally is, ecstatic in fact.

"We have needed help for a long time and I am so pleased that we are finally getting it."

Work starts on the library this month and Groundwork Middlesbrough, which is carrying out the work, said playgrounds suitable for children aged up to 16 will be ready for the summer holidays.

Executive director of Groundwork Middlesbrough Chris Watson said he hoped local companies would involve unemployed craftsmen from the estate to do the work such as bricklaying, joinery and plastering.

He said: "We want to create a real sense of ownership so it will be less likely to be subject to vandalism."

Middlesbrough Council, which is partially funding the scheme, along with grants from Sure Start, the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and the European Union has appointed Neighbourhood manager Martin Harvey to oversee the regeneration of the estate.

He said: "We have been looking at the social needs of the people who live here and we hope this will act as a great springboard for future of the estate."