A HISTORIC lighthouse offering some of the finest views of a leading resort and a beach-side lido look set to be renovated, after landing funds in a £474,500 wave of Government grants to secure seaside attractions in Yorkshire and the North-East.

Communities minister Brandon Lewis said the Coastal Revival funding would secure Whitby West Pier Lighthouse and ten other projects in the region, including a coastal cycling track, visitor and community centres and a museum, for generations to come.

The 84ft-high grade II listed building at the mouth of the River Esk, which was visited by Princess Victoria three years after it was built in 1831, was closed in 2012, after 65 years of providing visitors with unique views of the town and the abbey.

Surveyors condemned it as unsafe due to severe cracks in the central column which supports the 81-step spiral staircase and remedial work was estimated at more than £100,000.

Mayor of Whitby Councillor Heather Coughlan said the funding to help renovate it was very welcome as that area of the harbour was very popular with residents and visitors alike.

The town will also benefit from a £44,400 Coastal Revival grant given to walking, cycling and public transport charity Sustrans, for dilapidated 21.5-mile The Cinder Track walking and cycling route on the line of the old Scarborough to Whitby railway.

Projects to renovate the decaying Tynemouth Outdoor Pool at Longsands Beach, and possibly heat the pool using geothermal energy, to recount the 300-year history of the grade I listed Canny Space Church, in Sunderland and to reopen Fulwell Mill Visitors Centre, Sunderland, have all received £50,000 grants.

Redcar Development Trust's chief executive Frankie Wales said the £12,000 it has received would help plans to modernise and expand 1936 building Coatham Memorial Hall and the annexe, boosting it as a community venue and its plans for a Redcar and Cleveland Boxing Academy.

He said: "It may sound like a small amount of money to some, but this is massive for us and will give us a real leg up."

Other schemes in the region to benefit include the conversion of Berwick's grade I listed barracks into a heritage hub, the renovation of St Aidan's Church crypt in Bamburgh and the transformation of a former church in Blyth into a creative arts centre.

Mr Lewis said the Government was committed reviving seaside towns, so they can diversify their economy, attract investment and secure their long-term future.