Public spaces on an Oxford estate are to get a £25,000 overhaul.

Spindleberry football pitch and a footpath between Knights Road and Falcon Close, in Blackbird Leys, will receive the cash from housing developers.

The funding was this month approved by the city council's south east area committee.

£30,000 of developers' money was released last October, to refurbish the pitch. But a report to the area committee last month said the cash was about to run out — with more work still needed.

The initial £30,000 was part of a £178,112 pot contributed by Willmott Dixon, the firm which built the Frys Hill and Brake Hill developments in Greater Leys in 1996. The balance of the money is earmarked for an all-weather pitch near Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre and new changing facilities nearby.

The work at Spindleberry is set to include new lighting, a barrier to stop balls being lost from the pitch, new fencing and motorcycle barriers to keep bikers off the playing area.

Blackbird Leys city and county councillor Val Smith told the area committee: "It's a question of doing anything substantial.

"People are walking over it on their way to the Kassam on a Saturday and causing damage. A small fence would be one solution."

City councillor Jane Lacey, of the Independent Working Class Association, said after the meeting: "I'm chuffed about this. I'm hoping it might be put in place before Christmas.

"There's also now a proper footpath between Knights Road and the brook, not just a muddy one."

A footpath between Cowley Road and Van-Diemans Lane in Cowley was also awarded £5,000 for an upgrade.