The National Lottery is putting up £1 million to restore and improve Falmouth's Gyllyngdune Gardens and Princess Pavilion with £58,100 of the money being made available immediately.

A National Lottery official confirmed to the Packet this week that the gardens were on track for a major transformation with a £58,100 development grant to back exciting regeneration plans. And an additional £939,000 had also been set aside for the scheme.

The go-ahead to kick-start the scheme has come jointly from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund's £160 million "Parks for People" initiative.

Owners Carrick council will use the funding to further develop a £2 million scheme to transform and regenerate the gardens.

Project manager Martin Searle said: "The council is delighted that the project has been given a Stage 1 pass for a £939,000 contribution from the Lottery's Parks for People initiative. Our scheme aims to ensure that the valuable heritage features of the gardens are conserved and well-presented, that all amenities are brought up-to-date and that new activities are introduced to enable Falmouth's hidden treasure' to realise its full social, environmental and economic potential. Thanks to the development grant from the Lottery, we can now proceed with detailed designs and hope to commence works on site by autumn 2009."

Councillor Les Donnithorne, council cabinet member for the local economy, said: "This is great news for Falmouth. Gyllyngdune Gardens are already well-loved by local people and this scheme will restore them to their original glory and upgrade buildings within the Princess Pavilion complex to provide modern facilities."

Nerys Watts, HLF's South West manager, said: "We're delighted that Carrick council has been given the green light to develop its exciting plans. This scheme is designed to get the local community really involved and to ensure a much-improved environment and standard of living for all those who use the park."

Big Lottery Fund Head of South West region, Mark Cotton, said: "This investment comes at a time when healthy living is on the top of the agenda and our parks play a vital role in improving wellbeing, the environment and community life. People in Falmouth will benefit from this funding all through the seasons and the transformation will last for future generations to enjoy."

Jon James, principal parks manager for Carrick, said: "I have been involved with this park for over 12 years and the opportunity to restore Gyllyngdune Gar-dens has been something I have wished to see for a long time. To see such things as the glasshouse, sea front chapel, shell caves and the planting restored will be something that will bring personal pleasure and satisfaction to me."

In addition to the restoration of all landscaping features, new entrances will be created and existing entrances, paths and signage will be improved to make the gardens more accessible. The fascinating social and horticultural history of the site will be interpreted in innovative ways, including interactive displays in and around a new children's play area.

The outmoded buildings of the Princess Pavilion bar, café and entrance will be revitalised to provide versatile modern facilities. A visitor and education officer will be employed by the Trust to engage with local people and groups in developing an improved programme of activities designed to attract new audiences.

Pavilion manager Mark Laundon said everyone was delighted with the news but this was only the beginning. There was a lot of evaluation work to be done over the coming year before work could start. The Friends of the Pavilion were equally pleased and their work would continue.