National Trust mansion Saltram which featured in the Oscar-winning film Sense and Sensibility is celebrating a £4.5 windfall to help people with mobility issues more fully explore the house and estate.

A Changing Places toilet is planned as well as a lift to the first floor of the house.

The money will also be directed to help children and young people gain skills through work experience, school programmes and internships and apprenticeships.

The elegant Georgian mansion, just outside Plymouth, featured in Ang Lee’s film of the Jane Austen classic 30 years ago.

The house offers visitors an insight into a rare surviving 18th-century designed landscape and mansion on the boundary of a city. But although it attracts almost one million visits a year, local communities still face barriers to access.

The £4.5 million grant will go towards a four-year project aiming to break those down, at a total cost of £6.2 million.

A new step-free route will be introduced from the stables to and through the historic house – and a lift installed to the first floor. The network of paths will be improved and a Changing Places toilet block built for people with mobility issues.

Previously untold stories will be brought to life across six spaces already revitalised with help from 4,000 people in Plymouth.

Wildflower meadows and 20,000 trees will be planted and the amphitheatre, which can be viewed from the river, will be subject to a conservation project.

The project will also support almost 5,000 children and young people to build skills. It builds on a long-standing Urban Pioneer Partnership between the National Trust and Plymouth City Council.

Natalie Haly, project manager for the National Trust at Saltram, said: “From accessible trails and sensory-friendly programming to supporting youth development, this project will make Saltram a place where everyone feels welcome, represented and inspired – whether they’re here to explore nature, learn new skills, or connect with the past in a way that suits them.”