TV audiences will be asked to vote for a mill in the region during the architectural equivalent of Pop Idol.

Gayle Mill, at Hawes, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, has been awarded £800,000 towards an extensive restoration, which will see it turned into a learning centre.

However, while the grants cover the cost of the restoring the fabric of the 250-year-old building, the North-East Civic Trust has so far been unable to identify money to pay for the rejuvenation of its unique water system, which it hopes will be an integral part of the mill's new lease of life.

As a result, Gayle Mill will compete against 18 projects in the UK in the second series of Restoration, hosted by Griff Rhys Jones on BBC2, in which viewers will be asked to vote for their favourite.

Spokeswoman Joan Robson said: "Not winning the Restoration vote would not be critical, but it would mean we would be able to have the building with all its facilities running, which is bound to make it more of a feature."

A preliminary episode of Restoration will be shown on BBC2 next Saturday, with the series proper scheduled to run on the same channel from Tuesday, July 13.

Published: 01/05/2004