Efforts to improve visitor facilities at the Dorset birthplace of novelist and poet Thomas Hardy have been given a boost by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Dorset County Council and the National Trust have been awarded £40,000 of development funding to help progress plans for the cottage in Higher Bockhampton.
The National Trust currently owns and manages Hardy's Birthplace, while Dorset County Council is responsible for the nearby Thorncombe Wood.
A planning application for the scheme and a second round HLF application for £400,000 is to be submitted later this year, with new facilities scheduled to open in October 2013.
HLF regional manager Nerys Watts said: "The new facilities would provide new opportunities for visitors of all ages to learn about and explore Hardy's work."
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