Work started at Central Park in November with site preparation works and the first deliveries of environmentally approved clean soil. 

The two-year project will be carried out in four stages and the many improvements will make the park a more interesting green space for residents to visit and enjoy. 

New play facilities for toddlers and children will be installed, as well as a refurbishment of the tennis courts and creation of approximately one mile of new pathways to make it easier to get around the park. 

We’re delighted to be able to help transform Central Park and make it more beneficial for residents. The project is no mean feat and the work involved is massive, but once finished, our residents will have access to a rejuvenated park and some first-class leisure and recreation facilities

More trees and wildflowers will be planted to compliment the new-look of the 89-year-old park, which has remained largely untouched since it opened in 1932. 

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement, Councillor Saima Ashraf said: “We’re delighted to be able to help transform Central Park and make it more beneficial for residents. The project is no mean feat and the work involved is massive, but once finished, our residents will have access to a rejuvenated park and some first-class leisure and recreation facilities. 

“Our parks provide an important space for people to get outdoors, exercise, socialise, and enjoy nature – and with our parks and green spaces amounting to more than three times the size of Hyde Park, there’s plenty to explore and appreciate in Barking and Dagenham.” 

Across Barking and Dagenham there are 28 parks and green spaces, which provide 463 hectares of land open to the public. The Central Park project, and similar park improvement initiatives such as planting over 32,000 trees in 2020 in Parsloes Park to create the ‘Forest of Thanks’, are all part of the council’s commitment to making Barking and Dagenham a greener borough and creating high quality green spaces to secure a better, safer and healthier future for children and future generations.

This work is being undertaken in partnership with Alliance Leisure Services and GLE Ltd and the cost of the park improvements will be funded from the income received from the soil deliveries.

For more information on the project visit: Central Park Improvement Project