A PROJECT at Thornton-le-Dale has been shortlisted for a regional award.

The redevelopment of the Victory Mill site is highlighted in the conservation category of the Pro Yorkshire Awards.

These awards, conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, recognise initiatives that contribute to the economic and social well-being of the region.

There has been a mill at Thornton-le-Dale, often called Yorkshire's prettiest village, since the Doomesday Book.

It was part of the Burgess family business, first as a flour mill, then a large commercial animal feed mill.

By the 1990s, it had come to the end of its useful life and the family decided to build a state-of-the-art green field mill for their Supafeeds range of pet foods beside the M62 at Pollington.

The question then arose of what to do with the mill at Thornton-le-Dale, situated in the North York Moors National Park, on a site of outstanding natural beauty.

The decision was taken to demolish the industrial structures and landscape the area, converting the oldest mill buildings to offices.

These became the head office of the family business.

The redevelopment also saw work being carried out to benefit wildlife in the area - such as installing owl boxes and building a ladder-type waterfall to help trout moving upstream at spawning time. A public footpath was also re-routed along the stream.

The winners of the contest will be announced early next month.

Updated: 12:23 Wednesday, September 17, 2003