Ainsley Harriott today met staff and volunteers at Lion Salt Works and presented them with a National Lottery Award for the UK’s Best Heritage project. He commented: “It's great National Lottery players have helped to bring to life the importance of Cheshire salt, which was used worldwide to salt fish and make cheese among other things.”

30 year campaign

Lion Salt Works opened after a 30-year campaign to save the UK’s last open pan salt-making site in Cheshire. 

[quote=Sara Hilton, Head of HLF North West]“The Lion Salt Works is hugely deserving of this award.”[/quote]

A four-year restoration, supported with a £5.2million HLF grant, has turned a dilapidated structure into a museum, preserving a key part of the country’s industrial heritage.

Sara Hilton, Head of HLF North West, said: "Lion Salt Works is hugely deserving of this award. "We have invested over £5m of National Lottery players’ money to help restore the site and bring to life the remarkable story of how Cheshire once dominated the salt production market both domestically and internationally."

Quids in

The museum wins a £3,000 cash prize and a National Lottery Awards trophy. The museum team will attend the awards ceremony, The National Lottery Stars, which is broadcast on BBC One on Monday 12 September.