The places where people play sport and get active really matter. Whether it’s the park you run through, the hall you do classes in or the pitch you play on, welcoming, convenient and accessible spaces have a big impact on a person’s experience – and likelihood of coming back.
HELP TO TRANSFORM COMMUNITY SPORTS FACILITIES
Traditional sports facilities are an important part of this, but it can be much wider too. There are thousands of outdoor spaces up and down the country – like canal towpaths, reservoirs and woodlands – all with great potential to be used and enjoyed as part of an active lifestyle.
If you know of a facility or space that’s important in your local area and could do with some help to improve it or open it up to more people, our new Community Asset Fund could be the answer.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We’re interested in talking to lots of different sports clubs and community organisations with great ideas to create, or improve, opportunities to play sport or just get active. For example, you might be:
- A community organisation looking to take over a sports facility that might be under threat of closure or is underused.
- A sports club that wants to expand or improve the sporting experience you offer your customers.
- People who simply have a great idea for a project, like making physical improvements to a building or open space, that’s clearly needed in the local community.
HOW WILL IT WORK IN THE BEGINNING?
In December, we're going to launch a programme to test this new way of making sporting spaces work better for local communities. This £7.5 million investment is going to be available for a wide range of organisations such as sports clubs, community groups and public bodies to apply for.
£7.5m
fund launching in December
It might be that you need help develop a proposal, or to consult your local community on what they would like to see happen. You might need help to get partners behind it and see what other funding or support might be available. Or maybe you already have a very clear idea of what you want to do.
We’re making the application process as simple as possible, and will be able to talk you through it. We anticipate making a wide range of awards from £5,000 up to £150,000. We will provide more detailed information on the application process in January 2017 and expect to make the first awards from April 2017 onwards.
More funding will become available after the initial phase.
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
There’s a number of things we want to achieve with this funding, but most importantly we want to help local clubs and groups to create high quality, welcoming and financially sustainable facilities that benefit their community for years to come.
Sometimes, that will be by investing in a sports club to improve its facilities – perhaps refurbishing their changing rooms or fitting a new boiler in the club house.