A £3 MILLION grant has been awarded to the North York Moors National Park to protect and raise awareness of its industrial heritage and spectacular landscape.

The money from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will be used to highlight the importance of the pioneering ironstone and railway heritage of Grosmont and Rosedale which has been eroded by time.

The project, named This Exploited Land is the trail-blazing story of the historic ironstone and railways in the North York Moors, and also aims to encourage rare wildlife, wild daffodils, ancient woodlands and the special species of the River Esk, said Stephen Croft, the park’s fundraising officer.

“Key parts of this story have never been told before,” he said.

“We want to capture the public imagination with the story of the forgotten communities, the pioneering ironstone exploitation and the early development of the railways along the remote valleys of the North York Moors.”

The ironworks at Grosmont retain rare surviving elements of world-leading innovation in blast furnace technology forged in Teesside.

“They contributed to innovative bridge design across the world and eventually to the creation of Sydney’s famous Harbour Bridge,” said Mr Croft.

At the height of the production between 1873 and 1914, about 19 per cent of the world’s demand for iron, came from the Cleveland Hills and the North York Moors, he said.

“The project will reveal the impact the sudden explosion of industrialisation had on the landscape, its national and international significance and conserve, protect and record the fragile remains of this revolutionary age.

“We want the landscape to become recognised for its economic and technical influence which extended worldwide.

“This will satisfy a hunger for recognition in local communities and support the tourism economy.”

The grant is part of a total of £21 million grants being awarded by the HLF.

Linda Chambers, a member of the executive group for This Exploited Land project and secretary of Rosedale History Society, said: “This is wonderful news for all those who live in Rosedale and the Esk Valley, linked as we are by our industrial heritage. We hope that our communities will continue to support the project over the coming years.

“This is a great opportunity not only to help maintain our nationally important sites but also to tell our story to the wider world.”

Fiona Spiers, head of the HLF in Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “This funding has helped forge strong local partnerships which have secured the future of some of our most threatened landscapes.

“These schemes all demonstrate a need for urgent conservation work to the natural and built heritage as well as reconnecting rural communities to these places. “Yorkshire’s amazing countryside is under ever-increasing pressure and we must act now to make sure it continues to be one of our greatest assets.”