Round Four
Opens: 10 December 2012
Closes: 5pm 18 February 2013
Round Four
Round 4 runs from 10 December 2012
and applications can be submitted to Sport England up until 5pm on
the 18 February 2013.
The assessment of applications will not begin until after the
closing date and any applications received after this date will not
be accepted.
We have allowed a relatively short time to assess bids and if we
recieve a much larger number of applications than we anticipate, we
may need to extend the assessment period to ensure all applicants
are treated fairly. If this happens, we will notify all applicants
as soon as possible.
Applicants will be notified of a funding decision approximately
10 weeks after the closing date.
If your application receives support from Sport England, you
will receive a site visit where a feasibility study will be carried
out, and possibly an operational assessment of your project. The
technical and operational assessments will be considered and may
affect the final funding decision.
If your project is viable, a turf agronomist will produce
detailed designs, specifications and drawings, administer the
tender process to procure the services of specialist sports turf
contractors, and manage the construction phase and the following
inital maintenance period.
The construction or improvement of natural turf sports pitches
involves earthworks ranging from installation of drainage, through
to major earthmoving operations. To be effective it is critical
that all work is carried out when soil is relatively dry condition,
otherwise there is a significant risk of damaging soil structure
and leaving the pitch in a state which will have long term
detrimental effects. The window of opportunity for carrying out
pitch works to a playing field is therefore generally limited to a
period from late spring through to early autumn.
It is therefore likely that the construction phase for the
majority of Round 4 projects will commence at the end of the winder
games season in the spring of 2014. The exception to this may be
for some summer games projects (e.g. cricket) which may get
underway at the end of the season in September 2013 prior to the
onset of winter.
Decisions
A Project Board will consider
applications, techincal and operational reports and make
recommendations to Sport England's Project Committee who will make
final funding decisions.
Possible outcomes
Applications will be assessed and initially
classified as one of the following:
- Unsuccessful
- Defer
- Award - conditional offer
Unsuccessful
If your application is unsuccessful , you will receive formal
notification of this decision together with a brief explanation of
why your project did not receive support.
Unfortunately, due to the competitiveness of the programme, a
significant number of applications will not be successful. It is
critical that you consider the programme criteria before
applying.
Defer
If your application is defrred you will recive a letter and
telephone call from your Development Manager who will explain the
reasons for this decision and what other information is required
before your application can be reconsidered. You will not be
expected to complete a new application to be reconsidered in a
future round.
Award – conditional offer
Successful applicants will be offered an award which is subject
to technical assessments and confirmation of costs.
Support will be give from a Sport England Development Manager to
help with any developmental aspects of the project.
What next?
If your organisation does receive a conditional award, you will
be fully briefed on the next steps by your Development
Manager. This will include an explanation of all funding paperwork
and reporting requirements. A key element will also be the roles
and responsibilities of parties in terms of working with the Sport
England appointed agents and contractors.
This phase will be very different to capital programmes that
Sport England has previously run.
In most case the technical and construction elements of the
project will be managed by our consultants including the site
investigations, specification, tendering, procurement and
construction phases.
Appeals
Unsuccessful applicants will be advised of the opportunity to
make a formal appeal within 21 days of receiving the decision.
Measurement and evaluation
To ensure the investment made is delivering the agreed outputs
and outcomes we will monitor all projects.
We are required to demonstrate that the Lottery grant has been
used for the purposes for which it was awarded and we will measure
the amount of sporting activity being achieved.
We therefore expect successful applicants to monitor the use of
the facilities and provide us with data on activity levels at six
monthly intervals through our online reporting tool.
Further information
For further information and queries please contact Sport England
Funding Helpline on 08458 508 508.
Useful websites