London's largest outdoor sports area opens

HRH The Prince of Wales has officially opened London’s largest outdoor sports area and multi-sports hub in Regent’s Park.

Prince Charles visited the site, which has 90 acres of sports pitches, and unveiled a plaque at the £3.4m Regent’s Park Hub.

The hub was designed by David Morley architects and has been built so that much of the building is underground, allowing it to merge into the Grade I listed landscape, with a 360-degree panoramic view of the sports pitches and across the park.

The hub will provide 20 adaptable changing rooms, with referees’ space, as well as areas for education and vocational training, space for quieter pursuits, such as tai chi and yoga, and a community club room. It is expected to be used by 150,000 people a year.

£2m from the Active England fund was spent on the hub development. Other project funders include the Football Foundation – which contributed £908,000 to restoring the pitches – Sport England – which invested £750,000 – the London Marathon Charitable Trust, Sportsmatch and Nike. Details: www.sportengland.org.uk