More than 100 sports clubs and organisations have received grants from our emergency storm relief fund in just a week.
Set up to help those affected by Storms Ciara and Dennis, the fund has seen grants from hundreds of pounds to £5,000 awarded to clubs and organisations across the country.
Many are still unable to safely access their facilities in places like the Wye and Severn Valleys, but our fund – which awards National Lottery grants through our Community Asset Fund application portal – remains open, with a quick decision process and access to cash for places in need.
Carlisle Cricket Club is one organisation to have successfully applied to the fund, with secretary Mark Davidson grateful for the support.
“We’re delighted to receive emergency flood relief funding,” he said. “Our clubhouse, netting areas, outfield and kit rooms were savaged by the recent storms.
“It's vital for clubs like Carlisle to access funding quickly to enable us to get back on our feet at the earliest opportunity and enable the community and membership to once again access our excellent facilities in the heart of the city."
1 in 3
The Environment Agency considers 1 in 3 facilities in a number of sports to be at risk of flooding - compared to 1 in 6 for regular properties
Playing fields and clubhouses are particularly vulnerable to flooding in England, because many of them are located on flood plains as a result of the cheaper, flatter land.
Our funding is often used for decontamination, skip hire, equipment replacement and access repair, and our executive director of property, Charles Johnston, is glad we can play a part in getting facilities back into a usable state.
"Floods can have a devastating impact on local sports organisations, causing damage to clubhouses and grounds and denying communities a chance to play sport, often for weeks and months on end,” he said.
“We've developed guidance on how clubs can take action to protect themselves from extreme weather conditions, which includes drought as well as flooding, and our flood relief fund is available to help clubs deal with the immediate impact.
“In the longer term we will work with communities, as we have with Carlisle since they were devastated by the floods of recent years, to make their facilities more resilient to the effects of climate change.”