Darlington is gearing up to bid for its share of £169 million worth of Lottery money set aside by the Government for disadvantaged areas.

Darlington Borough Council is to appoint a Lottery Officer, who will start work next month, with the task of bringing more Lottery cash to the town.

The Fair Share initiative, announced by the Government this week, is a joint Community Fund and New Opportunities Fund scheme.

It will guarantee money for 62 areas across the UK that have as yet not received their fair share of Lottery cash.

Details of the bidding have not yet been announced, but grants will be made from the Fair Share fund for projects that are aimed at improving the environment and local neighbourhoods.

David Lyonette, the council's Cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: "Over £6 million of Lottery money has already come into Darlington, but we recognise that we have not had our fair share of funding. It is an issue we are about to address.

"The Lottery Officer will work as part of our economic regeneration team with the task of working with local partners such as the Council for Voluntary Services, who already do a lot of work in this area, to maximise the opportunities for attracting Lottery cash."

The council successfully bid for £35,000 from the Lottery for the Skerne Park Childcare Centre and is waiting to hear if other bids for high profile developments in the town bear fruit.

It has bid for £3.8 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to refurbish South Park and expects to hear if it has been successful next month.

The authority has also put in two bids totaling £550,000 for the Firthmoor Community Association and the Firthmoor Partnership for the Firthmoor Community Initiative Centre, as part of a scheme to regenerate the area.

Coun Lyonette added: "We already work with several local community groups to help them prepare lottery bids, this work can be considerably extended when the Lottery Officer takes up the post."