Larkhall Park, Stockwell, in the LB Lambeth, is to reap the benefits of a substantial cash injection.
£0.5 million funding has already been secured by the council from Urban II - a European regeneration fund and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. Further funding is expected to reach the £1 million mark within the first year.
Sports Facilities
Improvement works are due to take place over three years. Priority in the first year will be given to upgrading the sports facilities and increasing the safety of those using the park.
A biodiversity plan has been developed and new planting programmes - such as a wildflower meadow - are planned for the spring, with the involvement of local schools.
Widespread consultation has taken place with key groups, including the Friends of Larkhall Park, the Stockwell Partnership and the Metropolitan Police.
Friends "Impressed"
Chair of the Friends of Larkhall Park, Carl Kowsky, said; "The Friends of Larkhall Park have been really impressed with the effort and time Lambeth's Parks Department has made in consulting with local residents and sourcing funds for the regeneration of Larkhall Park. I never imagined that the process would be so complicated."
The Larkhall Park masterplan is available to view on www.larkhallparkfriends.org.uk.
History of Larkhall Park
Larkhall Park is only 25 years old, although the idea for a park here was first conceived towards the end of the World War II.
Compulsory purchase of properties to make way for the park took place in the 1950s and 1960s and construction began in the mid-1970s.
The park was originally conceived to be twice as large as it is today; as it is, only two roads - Southville and Courland Streets - were completely wiped off the map to make way for the park, although a snippet of Courland Grove was lost too.
According to the Friends of Larkhall Park, the name 'Larkhall' appears on one of John Rocque's famous maps of the mid-18th century, and is probably associated with that of a substantial country house which later became the Lark Hall tavern and tea gardens.
Until 2000, a pub called the Larkhall Tavern was still trading on the same site, further south along Larkhall Lane.