After decades of gradual decay, work has finally begun to repair London‘s last remaining venue from the city’s 1948 Olympics, the velodrome at Herne Hill.

Built in 1891 in the south London suburb, the 450m banked track drew crowds of 10,000-plus during its heyday, but suffered from years of slow dilapidation due to a combination of lack of money and insecurity about the venue’s lease. The near-derelict pavilion and storage sheds have long been sealed off, and a deteriorating track saw a series of recent events cancelled.

But after British Cycling secured a new 15-year lease on the site, work has begun on re-laying the track, funded in part by a bequest in the will of a local man who was a regular official at track meetings.

An energetic campaign led by local residents and cycling fans has seen a wider plan for the revamped venue drawn up by Hopkins Architects, the practice that designed the much-praised 2012 Olympics “Pringle” velodrome. The plans will see the site, nestling between streets of suburban houses, keep both the track and an offroad circuit, used for mountain biking and cyclocross, with a rebuilt pavilion housing changing facilities, a gym and a cafe.

Even in its run-down state, the velodrome has remained one of the most important venues in UK cycling, hosting competitions and introducing generations of young cyclists to track racing, among them the multi-Olympic medal winner Bradley Wiggins.

The track work marked “a turning point” for the site, said Hillary Peachey, chair of the Save the Velodrome Campaign. “Barely a year ago the future of this incredible site was uncertain; the lack of a long-term lease combined with a series of harsh winters was threatening to overcome all the hard work which has been put into the track over the decades and there was a very real threat of closure.”