2:37pm Saturday 29th March 2008
By Alex Hayes
A HANWELL playgroup celebrated success yesterday with the opening of a new outdoor play area.
It has taken Liz Russell, chairman of Hanwell Bunnies' Pre-School Playgroup, and other parents four years to raise the £10,500 in grants needed to complete the area which they say is vital for helping children get exercise.
The 37-year-old mother of three, who has a child in the group, told the Ealing Times: "It's been a long, hard slog to get the money together to build this area.
"It's particularly important as it gives young children a safe environment to play in the fresh air, and some of these children do not have back gardens at home to play in.
"Although some parents do pay to send children to the nursery, we try never to turn away people who don't have the ability to pay, we don't make money an issue."
Money to fund the area, which has been built by the side of Hanwell Methodist Church in Church Road, came from the Local Network fund, Ealing Council and the John Lyons Charity.
Liz continued: "We were lucky to have a lot of support from Ealing Community Network to help us find suitable grants, but it has still been a long hard process."
Steve Pound and Virendra Sharma, Labour MPs for Ealing North and Ealing Southall respectively, were both at the official opening of the area to show support.
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