An Oxford park has been given a £10,000 grant to buy new welcome signs and revamp its pavilion to help bring it up to a nationally-recognised standard.

The money is part of a 10-year management plan for Florence Park, to make it eligible to receive Civic Trust green flag status, the parks' equivalent of a blue flag, the national standard for beaches.

To qualify, the park must be "welcoming, healthy, safe and secure, clean and well-maintained, sustainable and meet standards relating to conservation and heritage, community involvement, marketing and management".

Cutteslowe and Sunnymead parks, in North Oxford, and Hinksey Park, in Abingdon Road, have already qualified for the award.

Until recently, Florence Park's showcase flowerbeds were under threat after the city council suggested removing them as a money-saving measure.

However, parks manager David Reeve said: "The flower beds in Florence Park are safe and the ones immediately outside it are also safe."

A plan to build a fountain in the park has been postponed.