Pennine Prospects has been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant worth nearly £1.9m towards plans to bring the story of the Watershed Landscape to life.

Funded through the HLF's Landscape Partnership Scheme, the Pennine Prospects grant will go towards supporting landscape restoration, improving access and heritage projects. A community archaeologist and an interpretation officer are set to be appointed under the plans, as well as improved paths in the Upper Colne Valley, on Ilkley Moor and at the Cant Clough and Scammonden reservoirs.

Bronze Age landscapes will be mapped and interpreted; the history of coal in the area will be researched; RSPB efforts to preserve rare bird species and the restoration of traditional landscape features also form part of the proposals. Fiona Spiers, head of the HLF for the Yorkshire and the Humber region said: "People love this area and have been enthralled by it for centuries. Its restoration, which will now be made possible by the hard work of Pennine Prospects and the partnership funding they have generated, will see that history come to life."