Boating will be reintroduced on the Round Pond at Gunnersbury Park after nearly £4.7 million of Lottery funding was today secured for a major regeneration.
The cash will also pay for the restoration of the Orangery, archways, terrace and other listed structures at the park, on the borders of Brentford and Acton.
A new cafe will be built and lost features like the Horseshoe Pond reinstated by Ealing and Hounslow councils using the windfall from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Parks for People and the Big Lottery Fund (BLF).
As well as improving facilities at the park, which is home to many listed buildings at risk of decay, the money will be used to fund new events in a bid to boost annual visitor numbers from 600,000 to over a million.
Free gardening workshops, a community orchard and mini-beast 'safaris' are among the activities planned to attract more peoplt to the 186 acre park.
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran said: "This is wonderful news, and brings us a step closer to restoring the park to its place as a jewel of west London.
"This money will help people to really appreciate the historic landscape of the park, as well as enhancing the environment with new facilities for play, refreshment, events and recreation, for people to enjoy for years to come."
Ealing Council leader Julian Bell said: "This generous award from HLF will help us make the kind of radical improvements Gunnersbury Park desperately needs to bring it back to its former glory.
"Both Ealing and Hounslow Council can now look forward to transforming this fine house and garden so that even more people will be able to enjoy it in the future."
The funding for Gunnersbury Park was part of a £34.5 million Lottery investment in 13 parks across the UK announced today. It followed a report by the HLF which showed public parks across the country are at serious risk of decline unless 'innovative' new ways of funding their maintenance can be found.
