Historic Dockyard Chatham secures Heritage Lottery funding

The dockyard is one of 11 places on a shortlist of potential World Heritage Sites.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham has received a grant of £4.5m Lottery funding to support its Command of the Oceans project.

The project will preserve and repair a range of the dockyard's scheduled ancient monuments and a set of 18th Century ship's timbers found in 2012.

The grant will also be used to create galleries and visitor facilities, with the work due to be completed by 2016.

The dockyard is one of 11 places shortlisted for World Heritage status.

The site is regarded as one the world's best preserved examples of a dockyard of its age.

Chief executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Bill Ferris, said he hoped the grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund would give "a major boost" to the dockyard's World Heritage Site bid.

The award also unlocks a further £4m for the project including a £3m contribution from the Homes and Communities Agency, responsible for the regeneration of the adjacent Chatham Maritime site.