Whitley Bay's Grade II listed Spanish City and Dome is to be restored and reopened following a £3.7m Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant to North Tyneside Council.

The money will be used to fund vital repairs needed to return the building - closed in 2000 - to a good state of repair, with the Dome building undergoing major refurbishment for leisure, retail and business enterprise use.

North Tyneside elected mayor, Norma Redfearn said she was delighted at the news and added: "We want the site to once again be the symbol of a successful seaside, restoring pride in the area and attracting more visitors and investment."

Ivor Crowther, Head of HLF North East, said: "Whilst much-loved, buildings like these present huge financial challenges. The HLF grant can unlock the potential of Spanish City, encourage private investment, be a catalyst for wider regeneration and in turn create a huge boost to the local economy."

The grant was awarded through HLF's new Heritage Enterprise programme. This addresses 'market failure' - where buildings have previously failed to attract investment or realise their commercial potential because the cost of repair has meant that they were not commercially viable. With the first-round pass having being approved, a more detailed second-round bid process will begin early in the New Year.

When it was built in 1910, the Dome was the largest freestanding such structure in the UK after St Paul's Cathedral. At its height, Spanish City and Whitley Bay Pleasure Gardens attracted tens of thousands of visitors from across the UK. Its closure followed a period of decline during the 1980's and 1990's.