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Sports projects share in £10 million Lottery windfall

148 local sports projects have been awarded a share of £10 million of National Lottery funding to improve their facilities, it has been announced today.

Sport England, in its continued investment in grassroots sport, has invested the money as part of the next round of its Inspired Facilities fund – designed to breathe new life into community sports facilities that have become worn-down, expensive to run and difficult to maintain. The funding is also being used to convert existing buildings into venues that are more suitable for grassroots sport.

One project that will be transformed as a result of the funding is Bishop Auckland Canoe and Kayaking Club. Being the only paddlesport club in the Wear Valley, the club’s current base is at the local authority Woodhouse Close Leisure Centre, where it faces a battle for time in the pool with local swimmers and increasing hire charges.

The £54,865 investment from Sport England will allow the club to move to a new location – a disused swimming pool at St John’s RC – and set up their first permanent home. The refurbished facility will include a new disability hoist, ceilings, windows, lighting, electrics and changing facilities. The new home will allow greater hours for the club in terms of pool time and better facilities for the school.

John Holmes, Secretary of Bishop Auckland Canoe and Kayak Club, said: “This grant is fantastic news for Bishop Auckland Canoe and Kayak Club. We are working with St John’s School and Sixth Form College – a Catholic Academy - to help the club grow and improve community use of the pool.  The grant will ensure the future of the club for many years to come, offering an updated energy-efficient facility. This will include a new viewing area, cubicles, lockers, pool plant refurbishment and full disabled access to enable the club and the school to offer canoeing and kayaking to all. We are all very excited about these developments which would not be possible without the grant.”

Other projects to receive Inspired Facilities funding in this round are:

  • Strawberry Gardens Bowls Club in Wyre has been awarded £75,000 to re-site and re-build a new bowls pavilion replacing their old facility that was unsuitable for human occupation. The new facility will consist of an entrance lobby, toilets including disabled, changing rooms, a club room, kitchen, office and storeroom, with sky lights and solar panels fitted to the roof.
  • Streatham Youth and Community Trust will benefit from £67,926 to convert Conyers Road Youth Centre into a high quality sports facility. The funding will allow them to take an unused area at the centre and turn it into a studio with its own changing facilities and access. The Trust will also improve access to the gym for community use and improve the lighting and signage to the building.
  • £57,750 to the Gainsborough Rifle and Pistol Club to improve its current facilities. As it stands, all users of the facility have to travel a mile down the road to the local pub or shop to use the toilets and get refreshments. The funding will allow the club to build a facilities block that will cater for all its members.

Sport England’s Property Director, Charles Johnston, said: “The Inspired Facilities Fund has made a huge impact on grassroots sports since its inception, and remains one of our most popular funds. Since 2011, we have invested £94 million into 1,800 projects to improve and refurbish existing sports facilities all over the country.”

“This funding creates a long-lasting impact for many grassroots clubs and projects. We are looking forward to seeing these facility improvements make a huge difference to their local communities, and to help more people to play sport.”

Minister for Sport Helen Grant said: “Having good sport facilities on people’s doorsteps is crucial to encourage more people to take up sport and get active. The latest £10 million investment of lottery money from the Inspired Facilities Fund will help improve and maintain grassroots sports clubs across the country, benefitting communities for generations to come.”

The latest Inspired Facilities awards compliments Sport England’s wider strategy of facility funding. Thirty-six projects across England were recently awarded a share of £12.5 million of National Lottery funding from the third round of the Improvement Fund, while 271 projects have so far benefitted from over £1 million of investment as part of the flood relief fund to help get clubs up and running after the bad weather at the start of the year. Also, since 2011, more than 1,000 pitches have been protected and improved after 399 projects shared in £22 million of Protecting Playing Fields funding.

Community and voluntary organisations are able to bid for grants of between £20,000 and £75,000, with other organisations such as councils and schools able to apply for grants of up to £150,000.

In order to make this hugely popular fund even easier to access, the Inspired Facilities fund is now an open programme which means projects can submit applications at a time convenient to them, rather than being restricted by a specific deadline. Awards will be made on a bi-annual basis. Find out more and apply

 

Channel website: http://www.sportengland.org/

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