Shaun Dawson, Sport England’s London Regional Community
Champion joined Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and the Mayor’s
Commissioner for Sport, Kate Hoey MP at an opening ceremony of a
Sport England funded sports & leisure complex in Hillingdon
yesterday.
The Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Complex in the London
Borough of Hillingdon is a brand new facility for the borough,
boasting an Olympic-sized swimming pool, set alongside a
refurbished grade II listed open-air pool. Hillingdon Council’s
multi-million pound complex has been developed to provide excellent
local sports facilities for all and training opportunities for
aspiring athletes, with Sport England contributing £1.5m of
National Lottery funding towards the £26m project. The project also
received £2.025m of funding from the London Development Agency and
£1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
At yesterday’s opening, the Mayor said: “This outstanding
accessible sports complex is a real boost for everyone in the area
whether you’re striving to be the next Mark Spitz or just trying to
shift a few pounds and get healthier before the sun arrives. With
such amazing facilities it’s sure to play a crucial role in the
future success of the British swimming team and the fact that it’s
open to everyone - young, old, abled and disabled – is something
Hillingdon Council should rightly be proud of.”
Shaun Dawson, Sport England's London Champion for Community
Sport, said: "If community sports facilities are going to be
successful in attracting more people into sport and increasing
participation levels, they need to be able to offer the very best
sporting opportunities for everybody. People for miles around
Hillingdon now have access to an excellent Olympic-standard pool, a
state of the art gym and new sports hall - meaning there has never
been a better time to get out there and find the sport that's right
for you."
Amongst the facilities bringing the site firmly into the 21st
century are the new 50m Olympic-sized indoor pool, shallow pools, a
100 station gym, a multi use sports hall, spin and dance studios,
as well as a crèche, sauna and steam rooms, classroom facilities
for courses and training, and a café serving healthy food.
Shaun Dawson was recently appointed by Minister for Sport Gerry
Sutcliffe as one of nine ‘Regional Champions for Community Sport’.
Shaun will represent London, and act as an advocate for grassroots
sport and Sport England’s plans to increase participation. Shaun
will help to develop and take forward local partnerships that
improve sports provision and take-up across London, as well as
securing continued investment for grassroots initiatives.
Find out more about the new facilities at Hillingdon