A MULTI-MILLION pound project to improve understanding of one of the most important Christian sites in the country has won international acclaim.

The Whitby Headland Project, in North Yorkshire, is the only scheme of its kind in the country to win the European Prize for Cultural Heritage, the Europa Nostra Award.

The citation praised the £5.7m project's achievement as a "remarkable restoration of a coastal headland site with its historic buildings and archaeological remains, and for the imaginative new interpretative facilities it provided."

The success of the project in reconciling the needs of people with disabilities and conservation requirements has also earned it a Civic Trust Access Award.

The project saw the creation of a visitor centre within a ruined house, the restoration of rare 17th-Century cobbled garden courts and the removal of 20th-Century buildings from the headland.

English Heritage's regional director, John Hinchliffe, said: "These awards are well-deserved tributes to British design and ingenuity, and a clear recognition of what can be achieved when partners are committed to working together."

The project was a partnership between English Heritage, Scarborough Borough Council and the Strickland Estate, with grants being given by the Heritage National Lottery Fund and Europe.