THE NORTH EAST IS A GREAT PLACE TO ENJOY SPORT – AND IT’S ON THE UP

Local people believe that the North East is the place to be if you want to enjoy high quality sport The good news is, it looks set to get better as the region continues to improve on it’s provision according to the Audit Commission’s recent assessment results.

Recently, Sport England’s Active People Survey found that over 70% of North East adults were satisfied with their local sports provision – a result which is much higher than the national average.

In 2007 Sport England North East also celebrated scoring firmly in the ‘excellent’ category during its Quest assessment - the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure - setting an example to other sports providers across the region.

Now, the Audit Commission has released its national survey of local government – a Comprehensive Performance Assessment - which reveals that a quarter of North East authorities have improved against their sport indicators, whilst the rest have maintained a good position.

Local places to play sport are vitally important if the regional trend of inactivity is to change. But equally important is that these places are of a high quality for people to have a great experience and return again and again.

Newcastle and Gateshead have made the biggest leap in terms of the quantity of quality facilities available, with huge improvements when it came to ‘accessibility to nearby accredited sports facilities’ for local people to enjoy.

Judith Rasmussen, regional director for Sport England North East, says: “This is a testament to the hard work that local authorities and sports partners are putting in and the importance that sport holds in the region.

“Sport England actively encourages local authorities and sports providers to undergo accreditations such as Quest in order to ensure that local people have access to high quality facilities.

“By building on our already high quality provision across the North East, we are hoping to raise even more participation in sport, and will continue to work together with the local authorities to ensure constant improvements.”