THE Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £74,000 to help renovate Eastcote House Gardens.

Working with the Friends of EHG, the council now has up to two years to complete plans for repairing and improving the listed building and gardens.

The plans will then go forward as a bid for around £1m in the second stage of the process.

If this second bid is successful, schools and other local groups would benefit from activities such as pond dipping, ecology walks and a natural playground. An archaeological excavation on the site of the former Eastcote House is also a possibility.

Leader of Hillingdon Council, Ray Puddifoot, said: “This is fantastic news for the borough.

“The grant could help us to preserve and open up these historic buildings for the community, saving them for future generations but also using them for a variety of community activities.

“This will build on the excellent work, with local schools and groups, that the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens have begun there.”

The project includes using the stables for community activities, the dovecote as an interpretation centre and providing a small tea room and public toilets.

The historic buildings, the stables, dovecote and walled garden, together with the parkland trees, are the remnants of the grounds of Eastcote House, which was demolished in 1964.