Local community sports groups are being urged to bid for
£10 million of Olympic legacy investment to upgrade their
facilities with the opening of the second round of the Inspired
Facilities fund.
And to help potential applicants, a series of tools are
available to help applicants put together the best application
possible so they can use the investment to breathe new life into
tired facilities that can be unattractive to sports participants,
expensive to run and difficult to maintain.
“We want people all over England to be able to look back on 2012
as the year when their local sports facilities got better, as well
as the year the Games came to our country,” said Richard Lewis,
Chair of Sport England. “This could be the chance for sports club
to be part of the Olympic legacy.”
On the dedicated Inspired
Facilities website, there is a range of useful documents for
applicants, including a dummy application. This document allows
applicants to work through and develop their application,
highlighting areas where they many need additional advice or
support, well ahead of submission.
Applicants can also download and watch an Inspired workshop
video. The workshop video takes you through the application process
step-by-step, explaining what needs to be done and what things to
look out for.
There has also been a series of small, local workshops held
around the country. Hosted by the local county sports partnership,
the workshops have invited people from the community and voluntary
sector to come along and find out how the Inspired Facilities fund
can be of benefit to their area.
Part of the Places People Play legacy
programme, Inspired Facilities is helping bring the magic of a home
Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country.
All funded projects will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark –
celebrating the link to the Games.
“The Inspired Facilities programme is helping to improve and
upgrade grassroots sports facilities up and down the country as a
result of the government’s lottery reform and London 2012,” said
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics. “I encourage
any local community sports clubs that want to improve to apply for
funding. These grants can make a big difference in modernising
sports provision and giving facilities a new lease of life.”
With money also available to convert existing buildings into
venues that are suitable for grassroots sport, this investment is
putting clubs right back at the heart of their local
communities.
The second round of Inspired Facilities is open until 2 April,
to find out more and to put in an application, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.