More than £6m worth of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BIG) grants have been awarded to four parks across the UK as part of the Parks for People programme.

A further 11 parks will net a share of more than £1m worth of development funding as part of the initiative, which will help towards a range of projects that are designed to restore historic features and enhance landscapes. Wallsend Parks in Tyne and Wear has secured nearly £2.5m - the largest share of funding - towards plans for the restoration of the Vinery Wall and Fernery in the Hall Gardens, as well as to train volunteers to be guides.

Priory Park, Dudley, has been handed nearly £1.8m, which will go towards major improvements, such as repairs to the priory structures and a revamp of the 19th century parklands. The pavilion will also be upgraded. Middleton Park, Leeds, has been awarded nearly £1.5m and Marine Cove Gardens, Burnham-on-Sea, has secured £344,200 as part of the confirmed awards, which will help to improve each park.

Meanwhile, the 11 parks to receive development funding are Wandle Park in Croydon; Harlow Town Park; Worth Park, Crawley; the Phillips Memorial Park in Godalming; The Level, Brighton; and Alexandra Park, Manchester. Northumberland Park in Northumberland; Walker Park in Newcastle upon Tyne; Markeaton Park, Derby; Eureka Park in South Derbyshire; and Dock Park in Dumfries, Scotland have also secured development funding. Dock Park and Marine Cove Gardens, however, will only receive HLF support.

HLF chief executive Carole Souter said: "Summer is finally here, and it's the perfect time to enjoy our public parks. It's important everyone in our towns and cities has somewhere free, green and open to enjoy in their leisure time. "This joint investment from HLF and BIG is helping to do exactly that by ensuring parks continue to be looked after and have a major role to play at the very heart of their local communities."

Environmentalist and broadcaster Chris Packham added: "Public parks are places that really give back in spades to local communities and they're in pretty good shape at the moment thanks to the massive investment - £600m in total - from the Heritage Lottery Fund and BIG Lottery Fund." Image: Priory Park, Dudley