A dream of restoring one of the region's parks to its Victorian glory is to come true, thanks to a £2.9m Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

The fund has announced that it will award Darlington Borough Council 75 per cent of the total £3.9m needed to restore the town's South Park, which has been neglected for years.

The remainder of the cash will be provided by the council, County Durham Environmental Trust, the Training and Enterprise Council and other community and local partners.

Dr Keith Bartlett, Lottery fund regional manager, said: "South Park is a wonderful public facility, which provides an essential recreation area for the people of Darlington.

"With the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £2.9m, this open space will be restored to its 19th Century splendour, as well as having the welcome additions of a sensory garden and improved disabled access.

"This combination of enhancement, innovation and improvement of existing facilities and play areas epitomises the spirit of the fund's Urban Parks Programme."

The first job will be to improve security at the park. Work will begin in the summer, with railings and gates remade to original designs.

The restoration of the rest of the park will begin in spring next year.

Plans include restoring the bandstand, providing a terracotta fountain and improving its centrepiece lake.

A sensory garden will be created so people with disabilities can enjoy the area.

Public access will be improved, new educational facilities built and an adventure playground created.

There are proposals for a ball park and skateboard park.

It is hoped that the restoration and development will be completed by summer 2004, but the park will remain open throughout the work.

Dorothy Long, Darlington council's cabinet member for leisure, said: "We have had to wait a long time before being able to make this announcement.

"I would like to thank everyone for their patience, support and, in many cases, hard work."