A MAJOR milestone in the £4.5 million restoration of Keighley's Cliffe Castle Park will be reached on Thursday (Feb 9).

A massive, 9.5-tonne dome is being lifted into place in the grounds of the Spring Gardens Lane museum.

The feature will form a central part of the project to restore the popular park to its Victorian splendour.

Work also includes a new palm house and cafe terrace, refurbished pathways and planting.

And long-neglected attractions, such as a fountain and decorative streetlights, are being restored.

The dome house will later be home to a newly-planted Norfolk Island Pine and will be part of a glasshouse including a new cafe and toilets for visitors to the park and museum.

In June, ahead of the planting, schoolchildren will be invited to bury a time capsule.

Bradford Council successfully bid for £3.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund Parks for People programme to support the restoration project.

Cliffe Castle Park Conservation Group and Bradford museums were involved in the designs.

Work began last June and is due to be completed this summer.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, the council's executive member for environment, sport and culture, says the dome installation is a significant landmark moment in the scheme.

"It is a really exciting stage in the redevelopment of the park and it will be great to see the building take shape," she added.

"The Cliffe Castle Park project will complement the recent restoration of the museum and will create a terrific asset for Keighley and the rest of the Bradford district which will delight visitors for many years to come."

Philip Rushworth, of the Cliff Castle Park Conservation Group, said members were delighted with the new dome, being placed into the site of the original palm house.

"We have spent a lot of time studying archive photographs of the original glasshouses," he added.

"We are convinced that the new dome house will become recognised as a Keighley landmark."

The conservation group was formed in 2010 to support the council's lottery bid.

It promotes and organises events and carries out work to improve the park.

The group has been involved in projects ranging from the provision of information boards and signage to the publication of walks leaflets and opening of a new play area.

Visit cliffecastlepark.org.uk for more details.