Local communities across London are to get a massive £5.3 million boost to sporting opportunities as new funding totalling more than £12.6 million is announced today by the Big Lottery Fund and Sport England. The two organisations are working in partnership on the new £108.5 million Active England programme, which will drive forward community participation in sport and physical activity.

The £12.6 million is the latest round of funding from the joint Active England programme. It will provide new or improved sporting facilities and increase capacity and quality of activity projects in local communities across England.  More than 317 million was allocated from this programme by the two organisations earlier this year.

Ten projects in London will receive awards to fund people in posts specifically designed to increase participation in sport and physical activity especially among hard to reach groups in society. A new Healthy Living network in Tower Hamlets gets funding to the tune of £217,670 to provide fitness and holistic health activities to local residents. Street League has been awarded £461,132 to fund a multi-sports programme, making sports such as athletics, boxing and swimming accessible for disadvantaged and disenfranchised group such as the homeless, long-term unemployed, ex-offenders and asylum seekers.

London Sports Forum for Disabled People has been awarded £769,657 to improve health and well-being and social inclusion for people with learning disabilities by increasing regular and sustainable participation in sport and physical activity.

There will also be new sports development and community posts created at: Islington Play Association - £106,079; Active South Kilburn - £143,268; London Playing Fields Society - £156,550; and Westway Community Development  Programme -  £151,199.  

Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme in East London will expand the indoor multi-activities on offer as part of a large-scale community regeneration project following an award of £2.2 million. This facility will be a unique multi-sports hub in East London providing a vast range of facilities including health care, nursery accommodation as well as a range of indoor and outdoor sports.  A new high ropes course, the first of its kind in London, and other water-based equipment at Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre in Wapping will be provided with a grant of £50,750.

The Active England programme encourages innovative community sports projects that will promote and enable fitness and exercise all over the country. These could include finding new ways of attracting older people, supporting family activities with childcare and making better use of rural and urban spaces.  The two lottery distribution bodies also envisage Active England helping to mark the country’s commitment to increasing grassroots participation in sport and physical activity, alongside the UK’s 2012 London Olympic bid.

Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week for adults and one hour a day for children can make a significant impact on health. Exercise can help to prevent some cancers, heart disease, depression and obesity.

Sports Minister Richard Caborn said:  “Lottery money is a driving force behind sport at all levels and this new Active England programme will widen access to physical activity and sport in some of our most deprived communities. The flexible and accessible facilities this funding will provide have an important role to play in increasing participation - giving people the chance to get fit and stay fit, whatever their circumstances."

Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund said: “This enhanced sporting  provision will be at the heart of our local communities. It will bring local people long- term benefits for their health and well being. This funding will create and improve facilities by providing new equipment and extending opportunities to get involved in a wide range of sports and physical activities so there really will be something on offer for everyone. National Lottery players can take pride in the fact that they are contributing to the creation of more active communities.”

Lord Patrick Carter, Chair of Sport England said: "Active England has purposely funded creative projects which aim to encourage newcomers to try out sport and physical activity for the first time.  This approach will help communities to become healthier as well as assist Sport England in achieving its vision of making England the most active and successful sporting nation in the world.”

Notes to editors

*Big Lottery Fund

• Big Lottery Fund is the joint operating name of the New Opportunities Fund and the National Lottery Charities Board (which made grants under the name of the Community Fund). The Big Lottery Fund, launched on 1 June 2004, is distributing half of all National Lottery good cause funding across the UK.
  
• The Big Lottery Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.  To date, the two merged Fund’s have committed more than £5 billion to initiatives with national, regional and local partners from the public, voluntary, charity and private sectors, with a particular focus on disadvantage.

Sport England

• Sport England provides the strategic lead for sport in this country and has invested over £2 billion from its lottery fund in sporting projects from grassroots to elite level.  Its aim is to make England a more active and successful sporting nation.  Sport England recently set up a network of nine new regional sports boards who provide local expertise and invest money into community projects in their area
  

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