AN EIGHT-YEAR campaign to restore one of Liverpool’s most historic cemeteries is close to success.

The Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation, behind the project to restore Deane Road Jewish Cemetery, in Kensington, hopes to submit its final bid for six-figure funding this month after winning planning permission.

The cemetery is the final resting place of some of Liverpool’s best-known entrepreneurs, including David Lewis – founder of the department store – and Moses Samuel, founder of H Samuel jewellers.

Opened in 1837, the cemetery saw its final burial in 1929. Since then, numerous efforts have been made to restore and refurbish the ground, but none as substantial as the current bid.

The Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation has submitted a planning application to the council to restore the area, including the railings, gates and walls, and build an exhibition centre.

The cemetery also has a Grade II- listed ornate archway entrance.

If the planning application is successful, a final bid for funding can be submitted to the National Lottery.

Project Manager Saul Marks, 30, said: “We are really at the stage now where we have made some very exciting decisions about the plans for different parts of the cemetery.

Mr Marks, who has been with the project since 2005, said: “I have given five years of my life to this. We are in the final stages now. It is very exciting.”