Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, has welcomed figures revealing that Sport England has invested £602,855 of National Lottery money in Gosport sport since 2010.
The range of local sports clubs awarded funds include Hill Head, Lee-on-Solent and Hardway Sailing Clubs, Gosport Bowling Club, Gosport District Scout Council and Gosport Jedi Volleyball Club, to name but a few.
At a briefing session in Parliament, Caroline learned about the range of support Sport England continues to offer encourage people to play sport regularly, to help talented athletes become the best they can be and to make sure the right sports facilities are in the right places. Their support includes the Community Asset Fund, which awards between £1,000 and £150,000 for local clubs and community groups dedicated to enhancing spaces in the local community, and the Small Grants fund, which awards between £300 and £10,000 to support not-for-profit organisations who want to get more people playing sport.
Both funds are open all year round, meaning there are no strict deadlines for submitting an application. Furthermore, they have been developed to focus on viability and the value of the bid, rather than just the professionalism of the application, thereby making the fund more accessible to smaller community groups, that may have less experience in writing funding proposals.
Commenting, Caroline said:
"I am a massive supporter of Sport England. At a national level, their campaigns like This Girl Can are so important for helping women overcome fear of judgment and play more sport. But these figures show that their work at a local level is also critical for small clubs at the grass-roots level. We have so many fantastic groups in Gosport, who have already benefited from Sport England's investment. But I will be sure to contact local groups to bring the current support on offer to their attention, so they can continue to grow and expand, helping even more local people reap the rewards of sport and physical activity."
To stay up to date with Sport England's latest funds visit www.sportengland.org/funding.
