A new £2.2m visitor centre is set to open at Wat Tyler Country Park in Essex.

A 100-year-old former munitions factory located on the 40-hectare site has been restored to accommodate an interpretative exhibition on the history and heritage of the park and to house a café.

Education rooms and a conference hall will provide additional space to host business conferences and wedding receptions.

The eco-friendly renovation features a boiler fuelled by a sustainable bio crop harvested at a nearby reclaimed landfill, while the 'green roof' will attract butterflies and bees, and surplus rainwater from the roof will be used to flush the toilets and top-up the park's ponds and wetlands.

Cllr Stephen Horgan, deputy leader of the council, said: "The modern construction and eco-friendly features have bought this building right into the 21st century, and it will give people another reason to come and visit what is already a fantastic country park. I would also like to personally thank the key funders behind this project, without whom, it would not have been possible."

Funding came from the East of England Development Agency, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust.

A further £700,000 will be spent on developing 5kms of new and upgraded pathways criss-crossing the park as well as on creating new biodiversity habitats by December 2010.

Cllr Kevin Blake, cabinet member for leisure and open spaces, said:"The official opening marks the culmination of a lot of hard work, and I am delighted that we have completed this fantastic project, on budget and on time.

"Forest Gate Construction have been superb throughout and it is testimony to their skills that this old and dilapidated building has been renovated to look as outstanding as it does."

The investment is anticipated to boost visitor numbers to the country park from 290,000 to 350,000 a year.