Sport England invests £9.6m in sustainable sports projects
by Tom Walker | 07 Apr 2014
Taunton Vale Sports Club has received a grant of £273,000 / Rubb Building Systems
A total of 28 community sports projects will become more environmentally sustainable thanks to the latest round of Sport England's Improvement Fund.
Now in its second cycle, the Improvement Fund is aimed at medium-sized sport projects and facilities, awarding capital grants worth between £150,000 and £500,000 to initiatives that seek to "improve the quality and experience of sport".
The second round prioritised sports projects that will deliver savings by making facilities more efficient and sustainable.
Sport England estimates that a typical sports clubs spends around 30 per cent of its running costs on energy, and about £10,000 each year on electricity alone. By making changes to become more environmentally sustainable, Sport England hopes to help clubs reduce their energy bills by 10-20 per cent.
Projects to receive funding include Taunton Vale Sports Club, which has been awarded £273,000 to refurbish its existing hockey pitch and install LED lighting across the club, as part of improvement works costing £500,000.
Lighting for the clubhouse, indoor sports hall, tennis and netball courts, football area and floodlighting across the hockey pitch, will all to be upgraded to LEDs. The project – one of the first of its kind for sports clubs – will reduce light spillage affecting local residents from the outdoor lights, reduce maintenance costs as well as reducing energy consumption in the clubhouse.
Other projects to receive funding include Southwark Council which has been awarded £252,000 to improve the energy efficiency of Peckham Pulse healthy living centre.
• The Improvement Fund will invest £45m of National Lottery funding into medium-sized projects between 2012 and 2017. It bridges the gap between Sport England's Strategic Facilities fund – which invest in large-scale, multi-sport facilities – and its Inspired Fund, which supports small-scale community projects.
To read more about the fund and how to apply, click here.
A total of 28 community sports projects will become more environmentally sustainable thanks to the latest round of Sport England's Improvement Fund. Now in its second cycle, the Improvement Fund is aimed at medium-sized sport projects and facilities, awarding capital grants worth between £150,000 and £500,000 to initiatives that seek to "improve the quality and experience of sport". The second round prioritised sports projects that will deliver savings by making
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