New Funding Opportunity ~ Sport England’s “Places People Play” Fund

Places People Play Initiative

This new funding opportunity was sent through to us today…could be of interest to those considering new sporting facilities…

The Iconic Facilities Fund is part of the £135 million Places People Play initiative which will deliver an Olympic and Paralympic legacy of increased sports participation by ‘bringing the magic of a home Games into the heart of local communities’.

In order to succeed in securing a lasting grassroots sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, the need for modern community sports facilities will be paramount. There is a need for change and radical new approaches towards investment in sport and particularly the facility network infrastructure. These new approaches include the following:

• Partnership working.
• Sport at the heart of community hubs and co-location of services.
• Growth and maturing of the third sector with best practice trust models.
• Positive public private sector partnerships.
• Further coming together of education, health, community services and sports sectors through transformational building programmes.

A sustainable community facility should be able to demonstrate the following:

• Joined-up planning across boundaries both within and across local authority areas.
• Facilities and opportunities for two or more national governing bodies of sport which meet strategic priorities identified by those NGBs.
• Involvement by public and voluntary sectors with new management structures tested, for example social enterprise (community ownership) and public private hybrids.
• A sustainable business plan which combines capital, revenue, public and private resources to support the facility’s sustainability including sports development initiatives and life-cycle costs.
• Evidence of partnership working and community involvement to scope each project and a commitment to draw in local investment and resources.
• Strategic partnerships with national and regional agencies eg NGBs, sports trusts, the Homes and Communities Agency, regional development agencies and the private sector.

Applications must be submitted by an organisation entitled to receive public funding such as sports clubs, voluntary or community organisations, local authorities and education establishments such as schools, colleges and universities.

The deadline for applications is 16 December 2010.

Please click here to access the Sport England site for further information.

http://www.sportengland.org/funding/sustainable_facilities.aspx