HOUSES on a council estate are to get a new look thanks to a local authority windfall.

Residents in Jedburgh Drive, Darlington, will benefit from investment of more than £300,000 in their properties.

The windfall comes after Darlington Borough Council realised it had over-estimated the cost of improvements to council properties and had an extra £382,000 to spend.

The authority decided to spend the cash on 63 homes on the Branksome estate.

This year, the council is focusing on improving the conditions for tenants in Branksome.

The extra money will allow work on the inside of properties on the estate to be completed.

The chosen homes will be fitted with new kitchens and bathrooms, and be rewired.

All the homes will be inspected before work is carried out, but it is estimated the improvements will cost £310,000.

The remaining money will be used to renew and repair roofs, guttering and the exterior of houses on the estate.

A total of £302,000 had already been set aside for work on roofs, following a survey of properties on the estate last year.

This figure was increased to £500,000 after more detailed inspections were made of the properties, and more urgent work was discovered.

The extra money from the underspend will pay for work to be carried out on the estate's roofs this year.

Paul Baldwin, the council's cabinet member for housing, said: "The excess means that many families will benefit from the work that is planned, and it will also allow us to complete the improvement programme on the Branksome estate.