THE revitalisation of a town park has been given a boost with National Lottery funding of £324,500.

Regeneration work at Shildon's Hackworth Park has been awarded the money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it was announced at the weekend.

The project has already had cash injections of £130,000 from the town's Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and £130,000 from the town council.

Both the SRB and council have also allocated a further £120,000 each to help restore the park.

Speaking on behalf of the council, clerk Tom Toward said the money would do great things for the town.

He said: "This is the result of more than two-and-a-half years of effort. It takes an awful lot of hard work to meet the very high standards required for an award like this."

Plans for the mass facelift include an extension to the park with a new path and footbridge in Middleton Road, a new gate entrance and new furniture on Civic Hall Field.

The grant will help pay for the restoration of some of the park's centrepieces, including the drinking fountain, bandstand and miners' rest house.

A monument to commemorate local railway pioneer Timothy Hackworth is to be erected, as well as new entrance gates and fences, in keeping with the theme of a typical Victorian park.

A further £28,000 has been awarded in principle to extend the miners' rest house to incorporate disabled lavatories.

The town council is also hoping to secure a further aid grant from Sport England to install a skate park for local youngsters.

Hackworth Park was opened as a recreation ground in 1912 and is the meeting place for the town carnival each year.

Chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund's committee for the North-East, Professor Richard Bailey, will meet chairman of the town council, Councillor Allan Walker, at the park on Tuesday.

Prof Bailey will announce the latest projects to receive grants. Hackworth Park is one of three projects to receive awards. The Summerhill Landscape Interpretation Project, in Hartlepool, will get £80,000, and the Historic Hexham Project received a stage one pass which indicates it could get financial support in the future