Bournemouth School Charitable Trust in conjunction with BH Live has secured a lottery award from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund to enable it to provide a sports development training and seminar suite for local sports clubs and associations.
Since 2011 Inspired Facilities has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport.
Bournemouth School Charitable Trust, which owns the Sir David English Sports Centre, has injected £30,000 plus and received an additional £50,000 of National Lottery funding to create a bigger and better learning and training space for sports clubs and associations at Sir David English Sports Centre, Bournemouth.
This will support the continued development and expansion of recreational and competitive sport, promoting community and youth participation, talent development, umpiring and coaching courses, training, seminars and event programming.
Sport England Property Director, Charles Johnston, said:
“The Inspired Facilities Fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011 we’ve invested £100million into more than 1,900 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs. It’s great to see Sir David English Sports Centre join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from this fund.”
“Our aim is to create a sustainable future for sports development,”
adds Bournemouth School Charitable Trust Chairman, Allan Petrie.
“By creating better event facilities at the Sir David English Sports Centre we are putting down a solid foundation for nurturing talent in our region. Participation levels at the Sir David English Sports Centre have increased considerably over the last few years and it is vital that participation levels continue to grow.”
Developing local talent, encouraging community participation in sport and inspiring future athletes requires commitment, dedication and the right facilities,”
says Mike Lyons, BH Live Director of Leisure Facilities.
“Home to over 20 sports clubs including The Bournemouth and Dorset Netball Association, Dorset Badminton and Bournemouth Basketball, the Sir David English Sports Centre is already producing some of the most elite sports men and women in the UK. There is however always more to do and by providing a dedicated space for planning and coordination, we aim to inspire many more local people into sport.”
Many more communities are set to benefit from the hugely popular fund with the latest round of the Inspired Facilities now open. Community and voluntary organisations, councils and schools can bid for a share of £20 million to help upgrade facilities that can be unattractive, expensive to run and difficult to maintain, and to convert existing non-sporting buildings into venues that are suitable for grassroots sport.
Applying for funding has never been easier. Based on feedback from previous applicants, the Inspired Facilities Fund is now an open programme which means projects can submit applications as soon as they are ready rather than being restricted by a specific deadline.
To find out more and to bid, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.
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Notes to the editor
Sir David English Sports Centre is managed by BH Live in partnership with Bournemouth School Charitable Trust
About BH Live
BH Live is the South Coast’s leading operator of leisure and event venues – a social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives. With over 2.5 million visits a year and over £31 million turnover, the organisation is changing lives – placing it at the heart of the UK’s growing social economy.
In 2013/14, BH Live hosted 423 shows, sold over half a million cultural, sporting and entertainment tickets, clocked up 1.8 million leisure centre visits and welcomed 88,000 conference and exhibition delegates which contributed over £45 million to the local economy.
For further press information:
Elizabeth Symmons
PR & Corporate Communications Executive, BH Live
Elizabeth.Symmons@bhlive.co.uk