Sport England

The Nation's Biggest Supporter

Fortunegate Sports For All Scheme

Residents encouraged to get active in the community

Local residents were encouraged to get more active in their community at a resident involvement day, celebrating the launch of Fortunegate’s Sport For All sports coaching scheme – part of our £178m programme which is funded by Sport England who have contributed £45,000 of lottery investment.

The programme which is also supported by Brent Sports Development – gets into full swing on Saturday 17 February. Residents attending the Unity Centre in Church End will be treated to taster of the various pulse-racing activities – such as basketball, football, netball and exercise classes – that will be held on a regular basis at the state-of-the-art facility.

And while adults got the opportunity to meet with Fortunegate staff and local agencies to find out more about the range of other services available to them in the community, children and young people enjoyed entertainment especially planned for the day.

“This is a really exciting time for residents. Since the opening of the centre, our residents have been eager to make the most of it. Our new Sport For All programme will open up all kinds of opportunities for our residents, young and old. I hope they’ll feel really excited about all that we can offer them,” said Jean Prime, Fortunegate’s Community Centre Manager.

Andy Sacha, Interim Regional Director of Sport England London, said: “This is an excellent scheme which illustrates how a relatively small amount of sport and physical activity revenue funding can benefit a local community, adding value and linking to a regeneration programme. We are excited that Sport England funding for coaching, sports equipment and raising awareness will help bring alive the outdoor Multi-Use Games Area and the Unity Centre to help create a more active local community through sport in Brent. We also recognise and value the active support and engagement from the London Borough of Brent Sport Development team.”

Sarah Hawken, Manager of the Sport Development Team at Brent Council said: “It is a fantastic opportunity for the local community to get active at the new facilities and the coaching programme that is being planned will give all residents the opportunity to take part. We have already worked with some of the young people in the neighbourhood and supported them in gaining their coaching qualifications. Some of them are now coaches in Brent delivering coaching programmes to young people”

Notes to editors

1. Fortunegate Community Housing provides more than 1600 affordable homes in Brent. The organisation is part of Catalyst Housing Group, which provides more than 15,000 affordable homes in London and the South East. The Group’s work includes general needs housing, regeneration schemes, sheltered and special needs housing, residential care homes, low cost home ownership, and key worker accommodation.

2. Sport England is working to create an active nation through sport, providing advice to partners, investing in community sport and promoting sport and its benefits. Our aim is to increase the number of people participating in sport and active recreation by two million by 2012, with a specific focus on hard to reach groups that are currently under-represented. Sport England is a non-departmental public body that distributes both Lottery and public funding to develop community sport.

Sport England has nine Regional Sports Boards (RSBs), each made up of experts from areas such as business, local government, sport, health and education. The RSBs provide the strategic lead for sport in their regions and distribute investment for community sport.

3. The £45,000 Sport For All sports coaching programme, launched on 17 February, will provide 3-year Sport England Lottery funding to develop weekly sports coaching including specific sessions for children and young people in basketball, netball and football and adult exercise classes. The programme will encourage volunteers from the community to work alongside a sports coach and build up their confidence and skills to become coaches. In addition it will support active residents from Fortunegate to enter sports at a competitive level.

4. Brent’s sports development team works to support , manage and organise a wide range of sports activities on an outreach basis. The team aims to increase participation in sport and physical activity both through direct provision and partnership working. The team is currently:

•creating opportunities for sport & physical activity amongst young people, especially those living in priority neighbourhoods

•ensuring borough representation at inter borough sporting events e.g. Mini Marathon, London Youth Games

•working to help improve the health and reduce inequalities for people in Brent by creating opportunities for participation in physical activity programmes

•working to support and develop local sports clubs, community groups and coaches to increase participation and sustainability

•seeking out and submitting applications for funding to support the delivery and development of sports/health initiatives

•providing training opportunities for individuals to obtain National Governing Body of sport coaching and officiating qualifications

•partnership working with a range of other agencies to develop sports opportunities and programmes.

5. The Unity Centre has been built as part of Fortunegate Community Housing’s long-term regeneration of the Church End and Roundwood estates. The company started the last phase of the regeneration earlier this year and will complete the entire project, which began in 1999, in early 2008. The centre will serve all the residents in the local area. It has been funded as follows: building, £1m from Fortunegate Community Housing; multi-sport ball court outside the Unity Centre, £112k from New Opportunities Fund; first-floor office space, £200k from the Big Lottery Fund; sports equipment, £10k from building contractor Willmott Dixon.

Download the flyer here

IN YOUR REGION

Graphic Version | How to use this site | Site map | A-Z Index | Contact Us

FEEDBACK | PRIVACY/DISCLAIMER