The London Marathon Charitable Trust has awarded Barking and Dagenham a £500,000 grant towards a new community project.
The site of the new investment will be Parsloes Park in Dagenham and the new Parklife Project at the venue will help the site to offer high quality, accessible and affordable football and fitness facilities.
Parsloes Park is one of the largest green spaces in the borough and is an important part of the region for football, due to the location and the number of playing pitches available.
The site was where England’s World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore learnt his trade as a boy.
However, a major issue in recent years has been the quality of the pitches and the changing room facilities.
Now, the Government and the football industry have combined to launch the funding scheme called Parklife which will see funding for investment at sites of strategic importance just like Parsloes Park.
There are plans in place to develop three full-size astroturf pitches with floodlighting which are suitable for 11 a side football, as well as new state of the art changing facilities.
Also included in the development plans is a new park hub with toilets, disabled facilities, meeting rooms, a gym, dance studio and a café.
Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement said: “This is very welcome news for the residents of Barking and Dagenham as this grant will help bring about massive improvements to the park.
“This was where Sir Bobby Moore honed his skills and this funding will not only make a significant contribution to our community but will provide an open space for people to walk and children to play.
“These are exciting times for young people in our borough and has been a long time coming.”
