The latest phase of repairs to the magnificent Grade I listed Heaton Hall, which is situated within Heaton Park, have been completed.

Heaton Hall is one of the North West’s most important heritage assets and it received key funding support from Historic England and Manchester City Council to ensure the buildings protection in the future as well as to complete essential maintenance works.

Cllr Rabnawaz Akbar, Manchester City Council's neighbourhoods executive member, said: “As custodians of Heaton Hall, the council takes its responsibility to ensure it is properly looked after very seriously, and we can't wait to give the public the chance to see all the work that has been done inside this remarkable building.

"With its initial restoration now complete the hall is once again the magnificent centrepiece - the crowning jewel - of our magnificent park, and we hope it will continue to delight and inspire local residents and visitors to the city for generations to come."

The hall, which is one of the only Grade I listed buildings nationally, has been on Historic England’s At Risk list for many years.

It has undergone five phases of essential maintenance works since it was designed in 1772 by architect James Wyatt.

Catherine Dewar, Historic England’s North West Regional Director, said: “Heaton Hall, and its surrounding park, are really valued by people in Manchester and far beyond and these last couple of years have shown us all how valuable these spaces are to communities.

"The hall is one of a tiny proportion of buildings across England to be listed at Grade I, which is reserved for buildings of the highest significance.

“Working closely with the city council since 2015, Historic England has provided advice and £758,000 in grants to get to this point and we’re thrilled that locals and visitors will soon be able to get inside this North Manchester heritage gem once again.”

The previous four phases included repairs to the east and west wings, replacement of broken windows, shutters and fixing the roof of the Orangery.

The current phase five consists of on-going maintenance repair work including the replacement of recently broken windows, rendering repairs, and internal repair work on the first floor.

Maintenance and repairs started over three years ago and have now been completed, further maintenance will take place in the future.

The Friends of Heaton Park will conduct free, monthly guided tours on for groups to enjoy. The dates are 10 April, 8 May, 19 June, 10 July, 14 August, 10 September and 11 September.

There will also be charged, guided tours around the Hall on every second Sunday conducted by Blue Badge Guide Jonathan Schofield. Heaton Park also benefited from improvement works to help maintain one of Manchester’s most popular green spaces.

Improvements include the provision of new toilets in the park; creating wider entrances; the resurfacing of main paths and installing 23 new benches.

Recently, 18 English oak trees have been planted in Heaton Park, on either side of the tram track near the Middleton Road entrance as part of the £1m Tree Action MCR programme.