Improvements totaling £400,000 for Parks and Cemeteries are planned for Angus.

Play areas in Montrose, landscaping and environmental projects in Kirriemuir and Forfar, plus essential works to cemeteries across the county are to begin this year.

The improvement programme is possible thanks to £400k of funding from the Parks and Cemeteries Fund, first introduced by Angus Council in 2008.

"The initial £400k investment has been allocated and is being put to good use so we have ploughed another £400k into the budget for another round of projects this year," said Corporate Services convener Mark Salmond.

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"I set up the fund last year to specifically tackle the estimated £2.7m of work needed to bring our parks and cemeteries up to the standard we want for Angus. It's gratifying to see significant improvements being made in such a short time."

Mr Salmond said works made possible by this fund far exceed what could be achieved under the old equipment fund set up by his predecessor and left dormant for a number of years.

"Apart from this new fund having four times as much in the pot as the old one, far more projects are eligible for funding.

"Now instead of being limited to just the repair and replacement of equipment it's possible to plan and deliver entirely new projects such as the exciting new Peter Pan play area being developed at Kirrie Hill, to mark the 150th anniversary of J M Barrie's birth in 2010," he said.

(GK/JM)