London Marathon Charitable Trust donates £20,000 for ‘natural play space’ on London Fields estate

A £20,000 grant from the London Marathon Charitable Trust will help fund a new natural play space on a London Fields estate.

The play area on the Morland Estate will feature equipment made from sustainable robinia hardwood, a wooden rope bridge, a metal slide and new trees and hedgerows and is being built by Curved Earth.

The council-backed project is the culmination of 18 months of hard work by estate residents, and the £50,000 total raised means it won't cost them a penny.

The Greater London Authority, the National Lottery, Hackney Parochial Charities, German Kindergarten and the Woodland Trust have also donated towards it, as have the family of the late Len Brown, one of Morland's first residents.

Julian Blake, chair of the Morland Blanchard TRA, said: "Morland residents have had to put up with a lot in the last couple of years, particularly those living in our tower block, which has been shrouded in scaffolding while emergency brickwork repairs continue. This play scheme will come as welcome news to everyone."

A community day will take place on February 21 to plant trees and hedges, and an official opening is scheduled for April 3.