PLANS for a project to improve the South Dorset Ridgeway have received a major funding boost.

The Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership has received more than £96,000 in development funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its South Dorset Ridgeway Project.

The money will help the AONB team carry out preparatory work before submitting a bid for a full grant that will take the lottery funding up to around £3million.

The scheme aims to work with landowners, communities and visitors to the South Dorset Ridgeway to make it a better place for wildlife, improve access and bring the history of the area to life.

Ian Rees, from the Dorset AONB team, said: “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support.

“We’ve got some really exciting ideas on how to get people from Weymouth, Dorchester and beyond enjoying the ridgeway more and can’t wait to get started.

“We want to use art and new technologies to encourage people to find out what makes this area so special.”

Earlier this year an exhibition at the Dorset County Museum saw the culmination of the South Dorset Ridgeway Heritage Project, a three-year scheme promoting the special history and scenery of the Ridgeway.

Mr Rees said the latest project would build on that work and take it further as well as looking at other areas.

He said: “The previous project has done a lot of great things but what it’s really done is asked a lot more questions.

“This project will help answer those questions and expand the project so it’s not just about archaeology and the landscape.

“It’s a bigger and more expansive version of what’s gone before it.”

Nerys Watts, head of Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said: “This imaginative Landscape Partnership Scheme will create a future where local communities are directly involved in preserving the natural and cultural heritage of the South Dorset Ridgeway.

“New opportunities will also be created for visitors from near and far to explore, enjoy and learn about this fascinating landscape.

“HLF will be offering Dorset AONB full support in taking their application forward.”

The funding boost has also been welcomed by West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin.

He said: “I am really delighted to see that the South Dorset Ridgeway has received this very large grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. “The preservation and enhancement of our natural heritage and the promotion of biodiversity are key aims of the Natural Environment White Paper – and this grant will enable us to make huge progress towards fulfilling these aims here in Dorset.”