Ambitious plans to save the only surviving tea clipper of its kind in the world, the Greenwich-based Cutty Sark, have been approved by the Heritage Lottery Fund (NLF).

NLF provided a grant worth £11.75m for the project, which will enable a £25m refurbishment programme to begin.

The programme, headed by the Cutty Sark Trust, includes raising the ship up on a dry berth, reinstating of some of her sails and the construction of a base that would portray the vessel cutting through waves.

The most ambitious plans, however, will see the ship suspended in a Kevlar web during the revamp, allowing visitors the opportunity to walk underneath her and observe the conservation work in progress.

Within the glass canopy, access to the ship will be improved and learning zones and entertainment facilities and catering facilities would be constructed.

Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, said: “The ship already has a successful track record as a heritage destination, but needed this capital injection to re-energise her as a sustainable 21st century visitor attraction.

“Our plans were formulated due to the physical condition of the ship. If the application had failed, the trust would have been forced to close the ship as a public attraction in 2007.”

The trust expects construction work to begin by September 2006 with completion due in 2009.