Barking and Dagenham has been awarded a £500,000 grant towards a new community project in Dagenham by the London Marathon Charitable Trust.

The venue at Parsloes Park will benefit from the huge investment and the Parklife Project will offer high quality, accessible and affordable football and fitness.

Parsloes Park is one of the biggest and most important green spaces in the borough and has regional significance for it’s football pitches due to its location and the number of playing pitches available – it was where England’s World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore learned his trade.

But a major issue has been the quality of pitches and work to improve on the changing facilities.

As a result, the government and the football industry have launched a funding scheme called Parklife, which provides funding for investment at sites of strategic importance.

Plans are in place to develop a new state of the art changing pavilion and three full size artificial grass pitches with floodlighting (suitable for 11 a side football).

On top of that there will be a new park hub with toilets, facilities for disabled people, meeting rooms, a gym and dance studio, and a cafe.

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, it will be an open space for people to walk and children to play including improved football facilities.

“These are exciting times for young people in our borough and has been a long time coming. With the Youth Zone being unveiled in 2019, Parsloes Park will be the best facility for them to use in Barking and Dagenham.”