How the Active Spaces Fund will energise sports and activity projects along the London Marathon route

Creating opportunities for these groups to lead active and healthy lives is at the heart of the Foundation’s work.  

You can read more about the funding on the Active Spaces page.

Among the grants is £38,400 to the Reanella Trust, based in Westminster. This grant will go towards weekly football sessions, alongside holistic mental health support for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and/or former offenders. 

Alford House Youth Club, in Lambeth, has been awarded £80,000 towards the refurbishment of its club buildings, which are vital a community hub providing a safe and accessible space for local young people (see full list of eight projects below). 

Nick Bitel, CEO of the London Marathon Group (comprising the Foundation and London Marathon Events), said: “Inspiring activity in all ages, abilities and demographics is at the heart of our work as the London Marathon Group. This year’s TCS London Marathon, the historic 45th edition, is now just weeks away and we expect a record-breaking number of participants to be taking part on Sunday 27 April but that is just one day of inspiring activity. 

"The Active Spaces Fund is an example of the work the London Marathon Foundation is doing all year round to encourage and support physical activity in communities across London, including projects in Westminster, Greenwich and Lambeth, boroughs that do so much every year to help us put on the incredible event that is the TCS London Marathon.” 

Debbie Tierney, Site and Project Manager, Metrogas Amateur Sports Association, said: "Thank you, the Foundation, for supporting us from the outset and giving our local community a brighter future. The grant will help us turn a derelict old sand-based Astroturf not fit for purpose into a brand-new 3G surface where we can now open the site to the wider community, attracting women, girls, and more diverse groups to have a safe and secure place to take part in sporting activities, build relationships and give them a sense of belonging.” 

For the full list of Active Spaces Fund grants, see the table at the bottom of this page. 

In a separate funding initiative, the London Marathon Foundation has approved a £50,000 top-up grant to Poplar HARCA towards the Teviot Active project, which is also based close to the TCS London Marathon route, in Limehouse. 

The project was awarded a £250,000 grant by the Foundation in October 2019 to help regenerate the Teviot Estate to encourage activity and to create the Limehouse Cut Floating Pontoon to enable local people to enjoy water sports. The new £50,000 grant will cover the cost of an Unexploded Ordnance Intrusive Survey that is essential to ensure the safe delivery of the project in an area that was heavily bombed in the Second World War.