Major funding boost for local sports clubs

Sport England appreciates that this is a hugely difficult time for everyone. To help they have opened a Community Emergency Fund worth £20m. to benefit organisations that deliver or enable sport and/or physical activity, including organisations that are not primarily sports organisations and but play an important role in keeping people active.

Local sports clubs, voluntary and community organisations including small charitable trusts across Pennine Lancashire can apply for grants between £300 and £10,000.

The Community Emergency Fund has been developed to help organisations meet their costs for example: to help a local sports club pay for their rent, utility bills, insurance, equipment hire, core staffing costs and loss of income whilst they are closed.

Chief executive of Sport England Tim Hollingsworth said: "We want the sector not just to come through the crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future and this package will ease the pressure on a huge number of organisations who are central to that.”

Pennine Lancashire is one of twelve areas in the country to be selected by Sport England to ‘test and learn’ new ways of improving physical activity levels - the pilot in Pennine Lancashire is called ‘Together an Active Future’.

Tim Hollingsworth recently visited the area and met with leads of Local Authorities and Leisure Trusts to hear what challenges have been encountered and how progress is being made.

The Community Emergency Fund is part of a larger £195m. package and is in addition to their recent decision to offer flexibility to those who currently receive funding – including the ability to change timings, key performance indicators, targets and conditions. For further information and to apply for funding, visit https://www.sportengland.org/news/coronavirus-information-sector