Radical plans to transform Morden Hall Park are close to fruition after a £1m grant was given to the National Trust site last week.

The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will help pay for a green overhaul of the 19th century water-mill and surrounding areas, including installation of London’s first “Archimedes screw” - a cutting-edge hydroelectric turbine, in the river Wandle.

Parts of the 125-acre estate that have been closed for 130 years will also reopen as part of a £2.5m project to convert the site into a world-leading environmental park and visitor centre.

The centre will be billed as a haven for sustainable revolution, featuring technology that can be used by homeowners to spearhead their fight against climate change.

Sue Bowers, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for London, said: “This innovative and exemplary approach to restoration, conservation and interpretation will make this a genuinely sustainable ‘deep green’ heritage project that will simultaneously bring alive the industry of the past whilst embracing that of the future.”

National Trust’s Thames regional director, Patrick Begg, added: “This is a fantastically exciting time for Morden Hall Park, the National Trust and for me personally.

“We in the Trust all share a passion for Morden, its heritage and for the wider environment in London. This grant allows us to forge ahead with what will be an exemplar for the trust in terms of arbon neutral building renovation.”

The park’s water wheel will be fully renovated and conserved while the stable yard will be opened for the first time in a century.

It is hoped the renovated wheel will be used to illustrate the industrial and cultural heritage of the Wandle, while the new hydroelectric turbine stands as an example of the latest in sustainable technology.

New facilities in the renovated stable yard building will include an exhibition centre, workshop space for craft artists, a small cafe and family picnic area.