HOUSING chiefs have pledged hundreds of thousands of pounds to improve parking and access near a cramped block of flats.

A £430,000 revamp of communal areas in Woolford Close includes extra parking, new steps and roadworks, improving routes to local shops and Kings' School.

Garage charges have also been scrapped in the Stanmore cul-de-sac under plans approved by Winchester City Council last Wednesday . Other improvements include new landscaping and access to a neighbouring park.

Stanmore councillor Jamie Scott, a Liberal Democrat, told the cabinet housing committee: "It will make a massive improvement to the area on the top of The Valley, especially residents living there.

"It will place a better access to the flats, it will give them a private garden area.

"An awful lot of work's gone in to get the scheme this far."

But the council's costs rose by £80,000, from an already-raised estimate of £350,000, after contractors gave pricier quotes than expected.

Richard Botham, chief housing officer, said bidders may not have "taken into account the complexity of the work”.

He added: "It's still something that we see as a very positive improvement of an area that seriously needs it.”

Further works have been earmarked for Wilberforce Close and The Valley under Stanmore's planning framework.