I believe the councils are paying for it out of a variety of budgets - parks, health, sports - depending on the council. Someone also mentioned to me that there may have been some lottery 'Olympic' funding but not sure if that was wishful thinking. I do recall posting here on SE23 a couple of years ago when we were talking about potential uses of funding for the Horniman Triangle that I'd seen outdoor gyms in Macau and wouldn't they be fun (I know the Chinese ones were Olympic related)

I cycle through Dulwich Park in the evenings and did smile last night to see an elderly Sikh gentlemen on the shoulder press machine and smiled to myself. They are certainly being used by lots of people who otherwise may not go to gyms etc, and the majority seem to have survived in working order. Perhaps in terms of park usage, improved health/fitness and general community happiness, they'll pay for themselves.

Interesting the differences between the layout in Home Park against Dulwich which is more spreadout and less regimented - I think I'm still spotting previously unnoticed machines there!