AN HISTORIC Isleworth park where a boy gashed his leg on broken play equipment is to get a £100,000 facelift.
The council is to inject cash into the dilapidated St John's Gardens following lobbying by St John's Residents' Association since the 1980s.
Last year the Chronicle told how five-year-old Stanley Kemp cut himself while playing on the out-of-date facilities. It forced his father to travel outside of the borough to find a safe and clean park.
Rob Kemp, 40, of St John's Road, has since been pestering the council to improve the park, which has Second World War bunkers underground. He was thrilled to hear it is likely to receive substantial funding.
He said: "Stanley is now six, an ideal age for kids to be running around a park, but there is nothing there for kids like him, it's in a terrible state. I'm happy things seem to be moving in the right direction."
Funding to improve the park has come from Section 106 funds - money that a developer gives to the council in order to make financial amends for the impact that its building will have on the area. This cash will come from a housing development at the north-eastern end of West Middlesex Hospital.
Marilyn Buekett, a member of St John's Residents' Association said: "There was a consultation in the summer for the users of the park and everything that people wanted has been put into the plans."
Seating, fencing, gates and paths are also to be improved and the park, which is one of the oldest in Hounslow, will mark the locations of the historic bunkers with plaques.
Residents will be able to comment on the plans at a meeting at 8pm on Monday, December 14 in St John's Community Centre, St John's Road, Isleworth.
The plans will be available to view in St John the Baptist Church in St John's Road on Sunday and on November 29 from 11.30am to 12.30pm, and on Wednesday, November 25, from 5pm to 6pm.
