NELSON'S Marsden Park has been awarded a life saving Lotto grant of almost £1million.

The grant will be used to carry out a full programme of renovation at the park in a £1.5million programme.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund have made an award of £966,000. The money will be used to plant new trees, flower beds and revamp pathways in the park.

Marsden is one of only two parks in the north west of England to be awarded the money.

Marsden Hall dates back to the 1500s and has been used for a variety of purposes -- its last as a restaurant, which closed three years ago.

But the money will give the historic hall a new lease of life. It will be transformed into a resource centre with interactive links to schools in Pendle.

The leader of Pendle Council Azar Ali said the grant was "fantastic news."

"It is something that the Friends of Marsden Park, local people and councillors have been working on for the past four years.

"Eventually everyone's hard work has come up trumps and this is going to be great for for Nelson and Pendle as a whole."