Plans to give a Moors visitor centre a £900,000 revamp are being developed.

The Moors Centre, in Danby, would be transformed under a scheme devised by the North York Moors National Park Authority.

The project is still in its early stages, but bids for a total of £582,000 have been submitted to Yorkshire Forward and a European fund.

Officials at the authority have stressed that the project will depend on successful bids as well as planning permission, but hope the centre will itself become an attraction for visitors to the park.

Under current plans, the whole building, leased from the Dawnay Estate, would undergo a major refurbishment. Car parking and access would be improved, with more facilities for children added.

Chris Leggett, head of support services at the authority, said: "What we hope to do is improve the interpretation that we give within the centre. It will be a very significant project for us if it takes off.

"It will make a big difference to what we are able to offer visitors in the Danby area and to the north-east corner of the National Park.

"We are hoping that it could become a destination in itself, with people using it as a starting point for visits to other parts of the area.

"We have done lots of groundwork over the last year or so to see if there is the potential for this, but the real effort will come about if the bid is successful."

At the moment, the centre houses a tea room, a permanent exhibition on the National Park, and is the starting point for a number of walks and trails. It serves a similar purpose to the centre at Sutton Bank, but is housed in a much older building.

If bids for funding are successful, and planning permission for the various changes is approved, work on the project could start this autumn.