A HERITAGE grant of more than half-a-million pounds has been confirmed to improve a part of Darlington.

English Heritage has confirmed that Darlington Borough Council's bid for money to improve the Northgate area of town has been successful.

The money is part of a three year Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme and will provide £90,700 for the town in the first year.

Businesses in Northgate will now be asked to apply for a slice of the money to make improvements to their premises.

The money from English Heritage will be matched by the council, and officials are hoping the sums for the second and third years of the project will be as much as the first grant.

The area covered by the conservation work will stretch from Central House, in Northgate, to the High Northgate railway bridge.

David Lyonette, the council's cabinet member for economic regeneration, said "It is good news for the town. We were confident our bid would be successful, but now we have had the green light we can look forward to working with property owners in High Northgate and Northgate to unlock the immense potential of the area."

The money will mainly be used as grants to help property owners carry out building repairs, re-instate original architectural features, improve shop fronts and transform empty space above shops into homes and businesses. Owners will be able to qualify for up to 60 per cent of the cost of approved building works.

The council's detailed plans on how it would like the money to be spent will be launched in the summer.

All property owners in the High Northgate and Northgate area will be contacted prior to the launch so they can prepare their bids for part of the money.