ALMOST £1million will be ploughed into major improvements on council estates across Southampton.

The city council has announced that 133 more car parking spaces will be created, while roads will also be improved.

The authority has set aside £936,000 for the scheme after a nine-month consultation with council tenants and leaseholders across the city.

The work will be carried out over the next two years, with council chiefs saying road works will provide better access and improve road safety.

City council leader Simon Letts said: “Many of our council estates were built at a time when little consideration was given to the future demands for car parking and vehicle access.

“For some time our tenants, leaseholders and owner-occupiers have been frustrated with the shortage of car parking available on our estates and the escalating damage to public amenity space.

“This decision means that we can continue to improve the lives of our residents across the city and is another positive measure we’re putting in place.”

From the pot of £936,000, a sum of £300,000 will be put aside as a subsidy for work on estates where the majority of people are owner-occupiers.

The homeowners will be asked whether they want work to go ahead, and if they agree they will be asked to pay a discounted sum of 50 per cent, with the other half being met by the council.

Owner-occupiers will make a deferred payment, which means they do not have to pay anything until their property is sold.

Planning applications will soon be handed in to carry out work to create the extra car parking spaces.