Sport England

 

 

 

 

 

The latest from the pitch

 

Richard Lewis joins Sport England as their new Chair - see his message to you below.

 

Dear Partner   I wanted to introduce myself to you as the new Chair of Sport England.   I was delighted to accept this role as we enter what has been described as a golden era for sport in this country.

Having been involved in sport all my life, I know the considerable benefits it can bring to individuals, and to society as a whole. Sport England is an organisation which I have come to know well over a number of years, through a number of roles, and I am proud to lead it at such a significant time.

 

We have been given a clear direction by the Government - to create a world-leading community sport system. In outcome terms, that means getting people to play more sport, ensuring that their sporting experience is a satisfying one and giving those with talent the chance to excel through developed systems and pathways. The specific targets we have attached to those outcomes are challenging - but deliverable.

 

However, I am well aware that much will depend upon how successful we are in building and maintaining strong and efficient partnerships. We will work with organisations across the sporting spectrum - our landscape partners, national governing bodies, national partners, local authorities, county sports partnerships - I could go on.

 

I want us to add value to the work you do, in the same way that you will be contributing to our outcomes. That means we need to ensure that we bring our expertise, experience and insight to the table, and use our ability to look across the spectrum of community sport to help you identify where opportunities and challenges may lie.

 

We are well established as a distributor of money, but we now need to establish ourselves as an investor. We must be sure that our money is not only used wisely, but that it is also used effectively. We are looking for value for money, and must be sure that everything we back supports our outcomes. We also want to prioritise interventions which encourage participation amongst women and girls, minority groups and in areas which face significant barriers to participation.

 

I also believe that Sport England is able to help drive people towards participating in sport. We can, and will, work with organisations to create campaigns that give a higher profile to sports participation, and I look forward to talking about some of the opportunities in the coming months.

 

We are committed to getting people to play more sport - and creating the infrastructure for that world-leading community sport system as part of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy. In delivering that we will be breaking the mould, and achieving something no other host nation has ever done. That's why now is the time for action.

 

I look forward to working with you.

 

Regards

 

Richard Lewis
Chair, Sport England

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Read on for more from the pitch

 

Backing sport in your community

Sport England launched its new Small Grants Programme and an enhanced version of the popular Sportsmatch scheme.

 

We look forward to receiving bids from a wide range of partners, enabling us to focus investment on grassroots projects that will deliver against our key outcomes - 'grow, sustain and excel'.

 

Click here to find out more about these funds, and three other new funding programmes which will open in the coming weeks.

 

Securing a better deal for sport

The role of Sport England in protecting playing fields has been expanded, as new figures demonstrate our success in safeguarding sports provision in local communities.

 

Our remit as a statutory planning consultee will cover mini-pitches, previously considered too small to qualify for protection.

 

Find out more here

 

 

If you would like copies of 'the latest from the pitch' sent to your email address please click here. her

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Lottery strengthens communities with new life for old village halls.

 

At a time of economic challenge English village life is being strengthened as the Big Lottery Fund today announces funding of over £4 million to regenerate and revitalise a range of facilities at the heart of communities throughout the West Midlands.  

 

 

From Birmingham to Worcestershire, 13 communities in the West Midlands have received grants the Big Lottery Fund’s Community Buildings programme to invest in a makeover of their village hall or community centre or to build a new one to order.

 

In Staffordshire, a unique partnership that demonstrates how diverse community organisations can work together has been formed to build the new Madeley Village Hall. The planned hall will replace the separate buildings now used as a village hall and scout hut. Its value to the community is made stronger with a link to a complex that will house a post office and the police, which will be funded separately. 

 

The new village hall is being developed by the residents of Madeley and neighbouring villages through a community-led partnership that includes Staffordshire County Council, Newcastle Borough Council, Madeley Parish Council and Housing 21. 

 

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk 

 

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  0845 6021 659