DARTMOUTH'S tired looking Royal Avenue Gardens are in the market for a major revamp — thanks to a £30,000 supermarket special offer.

And the town could end up with a £300,000 new public slipway from the same 'bargain bin'.

The cash is part of the £500,000 both Sainsbury's and Lidl between them threw into a district council pot when they were both granted planning permission to open stores in Dartmouth more than three years ago.

The money was stumped up to help mitigate the economic impact that the two large stores were bound to have on the rest of the town and £326,000 was earmarked for improving the town's park and ride scheme, £134,000 for town regeneration schemes and £33,500 for the 'public realm'.

South Hams Council is now looking at some of the projects.

They included:

Spending £30,000 on doing up the Royal Avenue Gardens which includes improving the lighting, street furniture and the management of the gardens.

Spending £300,000 on a new higher slipway to improve safety and give both the Dart lifeboat and the rowing club better launch facilities.

Only £50,000 of the supermarket money would go into the pot for this scheme.

It is hoped the district council would come up with £150,000, the Dart Harbour £50,000 and Philips marina another £50,000.

Spending £15,000 on street signs which would give clarity and consistency and be in keeping with historic Dartmouth

Spending £40,000 on initiatives to promote and market the town and try to extend the tourism season.

Only £30,000 of this cash would come from the supermarket pot while the rest, it is hoped, would come from the South Devon Coastal Local Action Group.

As South Hams Council executive agreed in principle to pumping the supermarket cash into the four projects, executive councillor Bryan Carson said: "The Royal Avenue Gardens are looking tired these days.

"I think this will be money well spent."

How the rest of the supermarket money should be spent on the park and ride and the public realm will be going to the executive at later dates, the councillors were told.