HEATON Hall could be flying high again this summer, thanks to a cash-fuelled injection of £600,000 generated by Manchester Airport.

The six-figure sum is the dividend received from the airport, which is partly owned by Manchester City Council.

Council leaders have decided to funnel the windfall into the park's Grade One listed hall, which was closed to the public in November 2011, as the council claimed it could no longer afford to keep it running.

Since then, campaigners have been lobbying the council to inject cash into the centrepiece building so it can re-open — and they have partially been granted their wish.

Last year, English Heritage spent £200,000 repairing the roof of the 18th-century former country house to ensure long-term protection against the elements.

Now, the city council is spending £600,000 from its Clean City Fund — cash it gets from airport dividends — on repairing windows, joinery and stonework in the hall's central and east wings.

Scaffolding went up around the hall last month and information boards that detail the work have been put in place.

One of the boards says: "The council aims to re-open the hall for open days and for programmed events, in partnership with Friends of Heaton Hall, once the current phase of works is completed.

"It is anticipated that this will be in August."

Since a critical park inspection report by Keep Britain Tidy in the autumn of 2013, the council has been trying to improve the park as a whole.

Bosses have refurbished the farm centre's toilets and made them more energy efficient, and they have pledged to help more than 60 young people into work by 2018.

Two new cafes have been opened as not-for-profit enterprises.

Sixteen bin stores have been built and 23 new benches have been installed, while paths have been resurfaced to make it easier for people with mobility problems.

The Western Pleasure Grounds have been given a makeover, with flowers set to bloom throughout spring and summer.

The council's leisure representative, Cllr Rosa Battle said: "Heaton Park is a jewel in the city's crown and one of the most impressive green spaces in the UK.

"The park is for every local person to use and love, and we are committed to making sure the park is as good as possible for the thousands of people who enjoy it each year."