Sustainable Facilities

The Sustainable Facilities Fund invests £10m a year of Lottery and Exchequer money into innovative projects capable of transforming the places where we play or take part in sport.

Facilities built in the public spending boom of the late seventies and early eighties are now ageing.  And if Sport England is to create a world-leading community sport system, they need to be improved.

The challenge ahead

But it’s not just about building new facilities or refurbishing old ones.  We need to invest in facility projects that are sustainable in the long-term, not just when they open.

This means we must invest in projects that are able to bring in enough revenue to maintain high standards of facility provision and customer service and a varied programme of sports opportunities and sports development outreach work.

Otherwise, standards may fall leading to a decline in use and levels of satisfaction.

We must invest in projects that also create long lasting partnerships between public, private and commercial organisations.  They will develop and promote industry best practice.  And they will make an impact on one or more of our strategic outcomes.

International comparisons show the advantages of a shift to a new-generation of indoor and outdoor community hubs that link sport and active recreation with commercial activities allied to wider social policy areas such as health, childcare provision and lifelong learning.  They bring together community facilities with revenue streams that put sport at the heart of the community. 

You can find out more about sustainable facilities and how they could work by downloading and reading our Sustainable Community Facilities Toolkit. 

We are determined to lead from the front through a new approach to investment in facilities and look forward to hearing from you and your organisation if your project can help us in this journey.