Buckfastleigh Town Council would like to thank and congratulate the members of the Friends of Buckfastleigh Swimming Pool for all their hard work with regards to the contents of the following press release:-
Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool awarded £75,000 of funding from Sport England
Date: 20/02/15
Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool is the latest organisation to receive National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund.
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.
Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool will receive £75,000 of National Lottery funding to create an attractive, sustainable, accessible and creatively-run community-owned pool providing swimming facilities to the whole community. The money will be used to make essential repairs to a leak, reline the pool, improve the changing area, extend the showers, and improve accessibility.
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 £94 million into more than 1,800 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.
“It’s great to see Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool join the long list of successful facilities to benefit from this fund.”
Friends of Buckfastleigh Swimming Pool, Pam Barrett said:
“We are absolutely the moon. This is fantastic news for the community – it’s a massive vote of confidence in Buckfastleigh. This is just beginning of regeneration for a town which has suffered so much decline. But it’s not just about repairing the pool, it’s about securing a more positive future vision for Buckfastleigh. There are so many possibilities for this community and this is just the start!”
Local MP, Mel Stride, said:
“This investment by Sport England into Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool is wonderful news. This is a really important amenity for local residents and it is vital that the town retains this facility. The award represents a vital boost to the community and an important investment in the town’s future. This money is a great shot in the arm for Buckfastleigh and a fantastic use for the continuing legacy of the 2012 Olympics.”
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 bid, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For more details about the project, please contact Chairperson of Friends of Buckfastleigh Swimming Pool, Pam Barrett on 07503 174129 or info@buckfastleighpool.co.uk
At least 70 per cent of the funding will go to community and voluntary organisations, through grants of between £20,000 and £75,000. The remaining funding will be open to a wider group of organisations, including councils and schools, with grants of up to £150,000 available.
To make sure the technical elements of the application process do not put off groups with good projects, Sport England has created a catalogue of typical facilities developments and costs, based on what sports clubs have told us they need.
Sport England is focused on helping people and communities across the country create a sporting habit for life. We will invest over £1 billion of National Lottery and Exchequer funding between 2012 and 2017 in organisations and projects that will:
• Help more people have a sporting habit for life
• Create more opportunities for young people to play sport
• Nurture and develop talent
• Provide the right facilities in the right places
• Support local authorities and unlock local funding
• Ensure real opportunities for communities.
The National Lottery has been changing lives for 18 years. Every week National Lottery players raise over £30 million to help change people’s lives across the UK.
For more information please contact the press office:
– Amy Wright on 0207 273 1593 or amy.wright@sportengland.org;
– Chris Dowsett on 0207 273 1889 or chris.dowsett@sportengland.org;
– Andrew St Ledger on 0207 273 1800 or andrew.stledger@sportengland.org.