A new visitor centre is set to be created at Harlech Castle, North Wales, as part of an "ambitious programme" of improvements to secure the attraction's future.

Cadw - the Welsh Assembly Government's historic environment service - will develop the new facility on the ground floor of the former Castle Hotel after the agency acquired the property.

Meanwhile, the first and second floors of the hotel will continue to provide guest accommodation and ensure a regular stream of income towards future maintenance of the facilities.

Cadw's acquisition of the hotel and adjacent car park, which are sited next to the entrance of Harlech Castle, was funded through the Assembly Government's £19m Heritage Tourism Project.

The project, which is backed with £8.5m of European Regional Development Funding, aims to take advantage of the economic value of Wales' historic attractions.

Cadw director Marilyn Lewis said: "The Heritage Tourism Project at Harlech will vastly improve the ways we can introduce visitors to the key stories about the history of Harlech and its environs.

"It also provides an integrated package on which to develop Harlech as a very special heritage destination. This is the first phase of a larger project that will see improvements being made to the facilities within the castle itself."

Welsh heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones added: "I am pleased that Cadw, through the Heritage Tourism Project, has been able to secure a long term solution for visitor access and interpretation improvements at Harlech Castle and give the town a welcome boost."