Orwell's Wigan Pier wins the Lottery

Wigan Pier, made famous by writer George Orwell, is to be brought back to its former glory - and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath will be the first to benefit.

A £1.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund's Townscape Heritage Initiative will pay for the repair and restoration of historic buildings in the area including Trencherfield Mill, Eckersley Mills and the Mayor's Boatyard at Swan Meadow Road. £370,000 has been specially earmarked for the magnificent Trencherfield Mill Engine.

The first project to get underway will be on the canal towpath. This will see new street lighting and CCTV cameras installed over the coming months. Other improvements will take place over a five-year period, including new homes and business units in the historic buildings. Broken windows and crumbling walls will be replaced as an urgent priority.

Cllr Lynne Liptrot, for Wigan Council, said: "This is excellent news! The money will help to restore these important historic buildings, bring life back into the area and create jobs for local people."

The 'pier' was immortalised by Orwell's book The Road to Wigan Pier. In truth, it was nothing like a real pier - simply a small coal staithe, a tipping device at the end of a set of tram tracks which caused trucks to empty their load into waiting coal boats.