PHILIPS Park could be returned to its former grandeur - but only with a lot of Lottery luck.

Council bosses have been given £5,775 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out an historic survey of the Whitefield park.

An expert will be brought in to look at how the past can be preserved as part of any future development.

The council originally bid for £850,000 for a complete regeneration but National Lottery chiefs are reluctant to part with this amount until the council comes up with a more detailed action plan.

Mr Nick Grimshaw, conservation officer at Bury Council, said: "They have offered us this money because they would like more specific information about the historic landscape of Philips Park. We have employed an expert to produce a restoration plan based on what remains of this history.

"The park came to its maturity around the turn of the century and we will look at how to unite what we have today with the design of the landscape in its prime.

"We will then look at the bid again focusing on the historic element."

Mr Grimshaw is hopeful Lottery chiefs will look positively on any revamped bid. He said: "The fact they have given us this money shows there is a general support for our proposals. It doesn't mean that they will give us the full money, but it shows they are at least interested in Philips Park and want to find out more about it."

The council expects to receive a draft of the survey from a consultant by the end of next month and plans to submit the new bid in September.

Philips Park started life as Pilkington Deer Park run by Sir Rodger de Pilkington in 1242.

In 1799, it was bought by Robert Philips from Staffordshire, who built a mansion and gardens, leaving much of the area as woodland.

In 1948 the park was passed on to Whitefield Council for a nominal fee and some time later the mansion was demolished.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.