THE Lion Salt Works at Marston has been highly commended in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) North West Awards.

A £10.2 million restoration project has brought the soon-to-be-opened site back to life, and the highly commended certificate for the salt works came in the building conservation category.

RICS judges said the delicate restoration and conversion of fragile 19th century buildings to a unique visitor attraction called for expertise, precision and care.

The judges also praised the project team for ensuring the UK’s last remaining open-pan salt works remained frozen in time as a slice of Cheshire’s proud salt mining industrial heritage.

The annual awards celebrate inspirational initiatives in the land, property and construction sectors, and Emma Jesson, the popular face of ITV’s Weather, was the host for this year’s ceremony, which was attended by 340 local property professionals.

The Lion Salt Works is to host preview openings for the public from May 20.

Visitors will be able to enjoy fun, interactive and educational exhibits telling the story of salt, including a walk-in ‘subsiding house’ and salt boiling pans that billow giant clouds of steam.

The museum’s historic core is made up of two restored pan houses and three restored stove houses, while an educational centre has been created inside the Red Lion Inn - the onsite pub which gave the salt works its name.