A NEW owner or a Lottery grant could be the best long-term bet for a decaying 18th Century racecourse in North Yorkshire.

It is thought more than £1m needs to be invested in the restoration of the best surviving example of a Georgian grandstand in the country.

But, as it has been many decades since Richmond's racecourse saw any action, its future is as an historical monument - or as the base for a new venture.

Richmondshire District Council, which has owned the dilapidated buildings since 1974, does not have the cash to pay for either restoration or to make the latter a reality.

So, as a result, other options considered by the local authority's planners last night were demolition - bound to be resisted by English Heritage and seen as highly unlikely - or shoring up the building, while other more permanent solutions are sought.

The racecourse was popular in the late 18th Century when the well-to-do would flock to Richmond for meetings during the day, while the town's Georgian Theatre Royal was opened to keep the crowds entertained in the evenings.

Both later closed when fashions changed, the theatre subsequently used as a corn merchants, wine cellar and a base for the local militia until it was rediscovered as a playhouse in the late 1950s.

However, the old racecourse grandstand remains unused today - as well as the old judges box - and the ageing relics are showing signs of neglect, with weeds growing amid the masonry and woodwork rotting away.

Despite work carried out more than ten years ago to make the site safe, a new survey commissioned by the council concludes that children are playing among the ruins and could be at risk.

Conservation officer, David Elliott, has therefore emphasised doing nothing is not an option and, last night, he recommended the authority spends £150,000 resealing the site, and stabilising the buildings.

However, he said there was still a slim possibility that, one day, the grandstand could be broken out of mothballs and put to a new use.

"Such an option would depend upon disposal to a new owner and has been thoroughly explored in the past with the Vivat Trust and Landmark Trust, but failed.

"There remains a very remote chance of a local philanthropist coming forward wishing to restore the grandstand," he told the committee