Plans to transform Staffordshire city centre parks are now a step closer to reality.

Planning applications have been lodged seeking permission for various projects at Beacon Park, Lichfield, including demolishing the old bowls pavilion to make way for a new one, and creating a lakeside cafe.

An application has also gone in to give the existing changing pavilion at the Swan Road park a facelift, with 12 new changing rooms, a storage area, toilets and an office. Historic features in the park will also be restored.

The improvements to Beacon Park are part of the district and city councils’ Lichfield Parks Project, which will also see the Garden of Remembrance and Minster Pool and Walk given an overhaul.

Historical features within the parks, such as the statue of Captain Smith of the Titanic in Beacon Park, will also be restored as part of the multi-million pound scheme.

The council is currently working towards securing a Heritage Lottery Fund grant totalling almost £4 million to help pay for the project.

A Stage 1 application to the body has already been approved and the money has been ring-fenced for the Lichfield Parks Project.

But the funds will not be released unless a Stage 2 application from the district council is given the nod.

Detailed designs and architectural plans are currently being drawn up for the application, which is due to be submitted next month.

An announcement on the decision is expected in February. If the lottery fund releases the cash, the district council will be required to provide £289,000 of revenue funding for the project up to 2020.

The council’s contribution will help to pay for a heritage parks manager for five years, a community and education officer for five years, and a schools programme and educational material.

The aim behind the Lichfield Parks Project is to both conserve and enhance the spaces, in a bid to entice more users and contribute to the city as a draw for tourists.