A rowing club for 80-year-olds, a sailing project based in a canal in central London and a boxing club that has cut village crime are just a few of the 91 local schemes that are looking forward to making the most of a £6,039,499 million National Lottery funding boost. Projects from every region in the country are eagerly anticipating their share of the Sport England funding, which will go towards building up and maintaining sports clubs and groups that are helping people to stay active.
Grassroots sport can be overshadowed by world cups or elite championships – but local clubs and projects impact thousands of people every day, and are often the cornerstone of their community.
A new clubhouse or state-of-the-art equipment can make all difference to a team’s survival – and could even be the springboard that attracts the next Jessica Ennis Hill or David Beckham to sport.
More importantly, local clubs and groups are often the first port of call for people new to sport, as well as those already enjoying grassroots activities - and are therefore invaluable when it Comes to keeping the country active.
That’s why Sport England has given a cash boost to 91 of the most in-need clubs across the country as part of its popular Inspired Facilities scheme – which to date has invested £102million in 1,920 projects.
Around 10 per cent of groups that previously benefitted from grants said without the money, they would have been forced to close. Half said they would have lost members without the investment.
While many of the clubs will use the money from this round of funding for vital repairs, maintenance and upgrading equipment – which they would not otherwise be able to afford – some of the more eye-catching projects include transforming a disused brickworks in Cambridge into a gymnastics academy and saving a local swimming pool from closure.
Sport England Property Director Charles Johnston said: “The Inspired Facilities fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011, we’ve invested £102 million into more than 1,920 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.
“It’s great to see these latest projects join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from National Lottery funding.”
