A council has won £200,000 to develop a bid for £1.7million of funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Croydon council would use the funding to upgrade Ashburton Park, in Tenterden Road, Addiscombe ahead of its 100th anniversary.
The money will enable the council to work up more detailed proposals for the park before bidding for the remaining £1.7million sum.
The estate mansion built in 1788 in the park has been demolished, but the original keepers lodge still remains. Following proposals developed in partnership with the charity Oasis, the site will be restored and turned into a youth centre.
The renewed youth centre will be a safe space for 8 to 19-year-olds and will offer opportunities for young people in the local community, as well as practical help and support for parents and carers.
Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis said: “We are really excited to be developing this new community space which will provide somewhere safe and nurturing for young people to thrive, flourish, and to explore their ideas and aspirations.
“I’m delighted that youth work is being recognised as a key part of the plan for the park, and that young people will play such an important role in the park’s redevelopment.”
Among other opportunities being explored is the restoration of the park’s severely degraded 1920’s tea kiosk to provide more community spaces for people to meet.
The council is also proposing to implement natural solutions to flooding that has been known to happen in the east of the park, creating new environments for wildlife and for people to engage with nature.
Surveying and development are set to begin in the next few months, with works planned to take place next year for Ashburton Park’s 100th anniversary.
The park was opened in 1924, after the council purchased estate land owned by Reverend Father Tooth, the founder of the Community of the Paraclete.
A chapel still remains on the property, the last remaining structure of the historical Woodside Convent, which is still used today as a wedding venue.
Pictured top: Ashburton Park (Picture: Google Street View)
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