The grand reopening of Cliffe Castle Park, in Keighley, has been announced for Sunday, December 10.

The long-awaited official reopening of the park, following millions of pounds of lottery-funded refurbishments, will have Christmas theme.

The event will run from 11am until 4pm and will feature a community Christmas market, brass band, street performers, carol service at Father Christmas.

Visitors will be given the first chance to view the centrepiece of the improvements, a new glasshouse.

Seven local nurseries and pre-schools are getting involved, with children making models of birds which feature the 12 Days of Christmas rhyme.

The £4.5 million restoration of the park, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Bradford Council, has been going on since July last year.

The reopening was originally planned for summer this year but had to be postponed because the work took longer than expected.

A garden party was instead held on the original date, hosted by Cliffe Castle Park Conservation Group.

In order to carry out the refurbishment work, Bradford Council successfully bid £3.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Parks for the People programme.

The project has seen the restoration of original buildings, features and statues of the park, which have all been brought back to their original Victorian splendour.

Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Culture, said: “The restoration of the park is a massive boost for the area and regular users will be thrilled to see it all finally coming together.

“Cliffe Castle has been one of the district’s favourite destinations since it became a park and museum over 50 years ago.

“We all look forward to showing off the improvements and unveiling our spectacular new glasshouses on a day that celebrates the completion of the project in time for the Christmas festivities.”