ANCIENT buildings in North Yorkshire have been given £2.2m in grants towards restoration, but more help is needed, according to a leading expert.

Writing in the county's new Heritage News, Douglas Campbell of the county council's building conservation department, which masterminds grant aid schemes, said many dilapidated old properties are found behind the market places of the county's prettiest towns.

Each year, up to 200 buildings are awarded between 25 and 50 per cent of the cost of restoration schemes run by the county and district councils.

"Behind the idyllic chocolate box image of North Yorkshire's many towns and village tourist haunts are vacant areas which reveal disrepair, inappropriate alterations, dereliction and neglect, symptomatic of underlying economic pressures," Mr Campbell said.

"These problems threaten the character of North Yorkshire's rich architectural heritage."

Extensive work is now being carried out in many towns and villages and Mr Campbell said relatively modest building repair grants had provided the impetus necessary to spark old areas back into life.

"We have found that as the level of building repair and re-use grows in an area, and derelict and once-neglected buildings are restored, the owners of neighbouring buildings are encouraged to carry out improvements themselves. The overall result can lift the appearance of a whole area."

He went on to say grants made uneconomic projects viable.

He said: "They help to rejuvenate buildings which have been a problem for years, attract new owners and investment into a town and enable new uses to be found for redundant buildings

"Carrying out building repairs also helps to safeguard jobs, especially those of traditional local craftsmen who have indispensable knowledge and skills.