Saltaire residents will be asked for their ideas on how to restore the village's historic Roberts Park to its Victorian glory.

Meanwhile a bid has been submitted for Heritage Lottery Funding to cover other open spaces in the model mill village, which was declared a World Heritage Site last December.

Bradford Council hopes the heritage accolade will persuade Lottery bosses to approve the bid which could be for as much as £2 million. The cash will restore the park and its buildings, which have become a target for vandals over recent years.

Ian Day, principal technical and development manager for the Council's arts, heritage and leisure department, said an initial bid for £30,000 to fund a restoration and management plan for the park and other open spaces was about to be submitted.

If the bid is successful a team of consultants will be appointed early next year and the main Lottery bid will be submitted in autumn 2003. If that is successful, restoration work will start in early 2004 for completion in time for 2008 when Bradford hopes to be European Capital of Culture.

Mr Day said: "Over the next two or three months we'll be sending out questionnaires to householders and talking to visitors to find out why people use the park and why others don't, how often people visit and what improvements they'd like to see. We'd also welcome input from people about other open spaces, some of which may eventually form part of the final bid. I'd be happy to meet any groups or individuals with ideas.

"There's a huge opportunity for people to influence the designs and ideas the consultants eventually come up with.''

Mr Day said other open spaces to be looked at included the Exhibition Road and Caroline Street car parks, the Saltaire section of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, the grounds of Saltaire United Reformed Church, the Rose Garden, the area round the Shipley Glen Tramway and the site of the village's former bath and wash house.

Councillor David Ford (Green, Shipley West) welcomed the chance for people to have a say.

He said: "It's very important to look at the whole area, not just the park, and come up with something that fits in with Sir Titus Salt's original vision for Saltaire and its position today as a modern community and a World Heritage Site.

"I'd like to see something in the park that really draws in families and persuades people to stay for longer than just a brief visit.''

l Mr Day can be contacted on (01274) 431988, by e-mail at ian.day@bradford.gov.uk or at Bradford Council, Technical and Development Unit, Bowling Park Lodge, Bowling Hall Road, Bradford, BD4 7TL.