Ovenden protected and Improved
Published on: 14th November 2011
People of all ages in Ovenden and North Halifax can look forward to decades of high-quality sport after a local charity secured £50,000 from Sport England’s Protecting Playing Fields Olympic legacy fund.
OSCA (Ovenden Sports and Community Arena) Foundation will use the money to create a new multi-sport grass pitch in the first phase of an ambitious plan for a first class outdoor venue and community sports hub that in time will offer: more sport and physical activity facilities; "more than sport" with lifestyle, multi-activity and extreme sports; more community events, education, training & skills programmes. Work will begin in the Spring of 2012.
Sport England’s Chair, Richard Lewis, said: “This playing field will be a lasting sporting legacy beyond the 2012 Games for Ovenden Rugby League and football teams where generations will enjoy their first experience of sport.”
The announcement came as Sport England invited more local groups to bring the 2012 legacy to life in their area by bidding for support for a local playing field through the second £2 million round of Protecting Playing Fields.
In round one, over £2 million has been offered to sports clubs and local groups to bring disused playing fields back into use, improve existing sites or create new sports pitches.
Protecting Playing Fields is part of the Places People Play legacy programme to bring the inspiration and magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities all over the country.
Joe Collins, from OSCA Foundation, which is putting £49,000 into the project, said: “The transfer of assets from Calderdale Council for community management has provided a real asset for OSCA to invest alongside Sport England to take the first step to provide a first class playing field as part of the ground-breaking sports facility development in North Halifax.”
Halifax MP Linda Riordan said: “I am delighted at this news; OCSA is a fantastic community-based, community-run organisation that are first-class champions for the North Halifax area.
“This investment will ensure the playing fields in the area are improved to ensure they can be enjoyed by people of all ages, not only today but for years to come.
"OSCA works so hard on behalf of the local community. It is fantastic that the grant has been awarded to enable their good work to continue.”
The playing field will also become a Queen Elizabeth II Field after agreeing to dedicate their playing field in “perpetuity”.
This is thanks to a partnership with Fields in Trust (FIT) which is running the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge as part of the programme to mark the Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics.
Alison Moore-Gwyn, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust said: “This fantastic investment into grassroots facilities in England will help to ensure that neighbourhoods can participate in sporting activities at all levels for years to come.
"We are delighted to see that this playing field will also be protected in perpetuity as part of the permanent legacy that the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge will create in tribute to the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics.”
By simplifying the application process and reducing the technical expertise required to bid, Sport England has opened up this funding to groups that haven’t previously received public money.
Almost half the successful bidders (23) were first-time applicants.
Protecting Playing Fields builds on the work Sport England already does to safeguard playing fields as a statutory consultee on all planning applications affecting a sports playing field.
