A LANDMARK project to preserve green areas around a world heritage site has won the backing of a Labour high-flyer.

Mary Creagh, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, visited Durham City yesterday to see how the cathedral staff and other groups are improving the peninsula’s riverbanks and woodlands, as part of a scheme costing £700,000.

The Wakefield MP said the project was important conservation work protecting Durham’s precious heritage and progress was being made because of the hard work and coming together of the cathedral, the city’s MP and the community.

Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour MP for Durham City, said the project was producing fantastic work and would preserve the woodlands and riverbanks for many future generations to enjoy.

The scheme will mean new views of the cathedral will be revealed, subsidence-threatened riverbanks stabilised, 200-year-old woodlands secured and footpaths improved.

Work began last summer, following a £287,500 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding and work is also being supported by the Friends of Durham Cathedral.

The cathedral recently appointed two woodlands officers and launched a project to research the history of the area for visitor information boards.

Yesterday, staff from Northumbrian Water helped clear litter from the area. Tree surveys have also begun.

The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove, the Dean of Durham, said: “Durham Cathedral is privileged to own and care for a beautiful public park. The riverbanks are a jewel of our region and our city.

“I’m delighted this project enables us to conserve and use the woodlands and riverbanks so the public can enjoy them now and in the future.”

Ivor Crowther, head of the Hertitage Lottery Fund North- East, said: “Durham Cathedral is one of the most spectacular buildings in the North-East.

“The project will see the landscape that surrounds the cathedral revitalised, wildlife habitats protected and the site opened up for people.”

Visitors are invited to a bird box-making workshop at the Storytelling Chair sculpture, on the North bank of the River Wear, near Prebends Bridge, tomorrow, from 11am to 3pm.

A volunteers’ open day will be held in the cathedral’s education centre on Wednesday, April 11, from 10am to 2pm.

For more information, call 0191-374-4070.