A mott and bailey castle in the heart of an historic north Suffolk town is set to undergo a �65,000 restoration project.

The intention is to use grant funding to repair parts of Eye Castle while improving the public information around the site in a bid to further involve the community.

In a report to Mid Suffolk District Council, countryside officer David Hughes said the castle mound was an excellent viewpoint of the town.

He said: 'Parts of the castle are in need of restoration works and many of the walls need repairs to the lime mortar and flint infill. The information on site is dated and in need of updating to attract more interest.

'The 'repairs and renewals' fund for 2012-13 contains �5,500 for renewal of the Eye Castle viewpoint and �1,000 for repairs to built structures. These funds are not sufficient to undertake all the repairs needed.'

The repairs and renewals fund has been used to make grant applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and the Waveney Rural Development Programme (RDPE) for additional funds to develop a project based around Eye Castle.

Mr Hughes added: 'Grants from the HLF and English Heritage totalling �58,600 have been secured and a grant of �8,000 from the Waveney RDPE is currently being considered.'

The secured grants will be used to restore the castle's structures and appoint a part time project officer on a 12-month contract to improve community participation at the site and develop new interpretation and educational resources.

The Waveney RDPE grant will be used to develop web-based interpretation and a phone app.