A THREE-DAY roller skating festival which was funded entirely by residents and local businesses has been hailed as a great success.
Dozens of families turned out in force to the event at Langthorne Park in Leytonstone at the weekend.
Young and old alike took advantage of the rented skates and team of professional instructors that were laid on by the Friends of Langthorne Park residents association.
The event nearly did not go ahead after the council originally demanded £3,000 in rent for use of the site because organisers wanted to charge an entrance fee to cover their costs.
But after a community fund-raising campaign enough cash was raised both to pay for the equipment and allow free entry.
Organiser Amanda Henry said: "It was a brilliant few days.
"To see the smiles on children's faces was exactly how I envisioned it, it was overwhelming.
"The feedback was great and we're looking at starting a club or doing this again soon, we've already started to look at fund-raising.
"I hope that this can help persuade the council to change its policy towards not-for-profit voluntary groups to cut back on all the red tape."
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