Sport England has unveiled an additional £40m of investment for its Inspired Facilities fund, created to extend the legacy of last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, and confirmed to 220 Triathlon that four triathlon-related projects are in line to collectively receive £188,000 from a previous round of funding worth over £16m.
The £40m comes from the National Lottery and extends the Inspired Facilities fund to 2017, bringing big improvements to local facilities for millions of athletes around the country. These will range from new playing surfaces to floodlights and better changing rooms, with investments to be made between 2014 and 2017.
“This £40 million injection of National Lottery funding will be a huge boost to local sports facilities across the country," said Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson. "The Inspired Facilities fund has been a massive success and by extending it to 2017 it will help encourage many more people to get involved in community sport.”
The four triathlon-related projects which have won a slice of the £16m funding previously announced are: Barnt Green Waters, which has received £50k to refurbish its changing rooms; Kirkby Stephen Community Swimming Pool which has been awarded £38k for a heat improvement project; Southbourne Surf Life Saving Club, set to receive £50k to replace its clubhouse; and Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre, which is getting £50k to update its changing facilities.
In addition, around 80 projects set to benefit from the previously-announced funding list athletics, cycling or swimming as one of their activities: 20 athletics-related projects will receive £1.3m, 19 cycling-related projects will receive £1.9m, and ten swimming-related projects will receive £657k of investment.
Sport England is inviting sports clubs to apply for a piece of the new £40m funding from October 21st, with more information available at www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.