BOURNEMOUTH'S Lower Gardens are due to undergo a facelift over the next couple of years.

For starters the council and Bournemouth Parks Foundation have now raised more than £80,000 towards a major revamp of the aviary area in Pine Walk.

While still some way shy of the target of £200,000, there is now thought to be enough to back a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for additional cash.

"The aviary is on its last legs, a couple more years and we are going to have to put it down," said the town's head of parks development Michael Rowland at a Lower Central Gardens Trust board meeting on Wednesday.

"There is enough capital there to look for a significant grant from the lottery to develop the whole aviary."

The council has finished installing new illuminations in the main part of the Lower Gardens and plans to investigate putting some simpler lights in the Westover Gardens area alongside the aviary.

Those already placed can be adapted for a wide variety of events and seasons.

With the balloon now gone, former operator S&D Leisure's kiosk near the entrance from the Square is due to see its contract run out in October, and Mr Rowlands told the board it is expected to be removed.

"What we will look to do after that is to replace it from next year with a permanent kiosk similar in design as others throughout the gardens," he said.

Mr Rowlands said the situation of the public toilet block between this new kiosk and the BH2 complex could lead to it looking "like an eyesore", and that the borough is examining the feasibility of replacing this block with new toilets at the same time.

Despite the efforts of council staff and volunteers to keep the gardens tidy, there have been several incidents of graffiti and vandalism in recent weeks, particularly in Pine Walk.

Mr Rowlands said such problems had been present in the gardens since "Victorian times".

"We do our best to stay on top of it, it isn't indicative of a big problem," he said.

Board chairman councillor Bob Chapman suggested putting CCTV cameras in the Pine Walk area to detect repeated vandals, however Mr Rowlands said it was too dark in the area for the cameras to pick anything up.