Plans are being put forward to make Florence Park one of Oxford's flagship parks.

The news comes just weeks after the city's parks department proposed digging up all its flowerbeds.

Oxford City Council wants to make Florence Park the city's third "Green Flag" park, along with Hinksey Park, Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park.

A Green flag award means the areas have met council-set standards of cleanliness, security and safety.

The council's Cowley area committee is being asked to give £29,000 towards new welcome signs, fencing and hardstanding for a disabled bay as part of the plan.

In September the committee was asked to consider removing the park's flower beds to find the money to lock the park overnight at weekends.

John Todd, chairman of the Friends of Florence Park, said: "It did always seem rather strange and unwise to upgrade the park while proposing to leave it unlocked and vulnerable.

"I hope it won't overshadow plans to make it a Green Flag park, but it is something that has to be borne in mind.

"I think leaving the park unlocked is the greatest single threat to it and I'm inclined to think that anything done to improve or upgrade the park might be somewhat negated by leaving it unlocked.

"At the moment we are looking at ways of sponsoring the flowerbeds which would take some of the pressure off the funding situation."

Earlier this year the city parks department said it could no longer afford to lock the park overnight at weekends and asked for £9,000 from the committee's budget.

The parks department suggested removing the flower beds - an idea which was rejected by the committee, which pledged £4,500 to keep the park locked until the end of the financial year.

Shah Khan, who represents Florence Park on the committee, said: "It is a very good idea but we need to find the funds first.

"We struggled because we had no money in terms of locking the park and it is more important to sort that out first.

"It is no good spending all this money if next year we can't lock it and within two or three weeks it will all get spoiled by vandals."

To win Green Flag status the park would have to meet certain standards.

A council spokesman said: "The criteria include the park being welcoming, healthy, safe, secure, clean, well maintained and sustainable.

"The benefits are that users can be assured their park is welcoming, safe and clean, and it also allows us to look at other revenue opportunities which we can use for improvement grants."

The council did not comment about the flower beds or about locking the park.