A MAJOR drive to make Southampton a better place is expected to receive the go-ahead next week.

Top decision makers at the council are poised to free up £250,000 of money set aside for finance projects and plough that into making city streets look better.

The cash would go towards repairing pavements and bus shelters, putting new litter bins near schools and cleaning up graffiti.

The council also wants to buy a new street- cleaning vehicle which could operate during the day.

At the moment cleaning has to be done at night because roads need to be shut as the sweeper drives by.

City council leader Adrian Vinson says a better environment is what city residents want more than anything.

"The street scene, along with anti-social behaviour, is the thing most people tell us they are most concerned about," he said.

"One of our major campaigns and one of our top priorities is addressing the range of issues of what's broadly called the street scene."

He cites litter, graffiti, vandalism and abandoned cars as things that "drag down the quality of life in neighbourhoods", and has vowed to turn the city around.

In Southampton, more than half of residents are dissatisfied with the pavements and street cleaning - well above the national average.

City shopping parades would be in line to benefit most from next Monday's cabinet decision. Bitterne precinct, Woolston shopping area and Lordshill's Channel Isle estate stores could all see big improvements.

Mr Vinson believes the changes would also increase the numbers of customers through the doors. "Our second target is to give a boost to local shops," he added.

Mr Vinson said: "The money is only a fraction of what's needed over the coming years but it will at least make a start and it does flag up the serious intentions of the new administration."

The £250,000 was due to pay for the replacement of financial systems but is now available because of savings on the scheme.