Sport England has increased its emergency flood relief fund to £400,000 to help people repair sports pitches and facilities destroyed by this winter’s unprecedented rainfall.
The funding is available to clubs, local authorities and other community sports organisations in affected areas to help pay for emergency repairs.
Financial support can be provided in as little as three weeks with the National Lottery funding able to help pay for repairs to damaged facilities such as rugby and cricket pitches, water sports centres, pavilions, changing rooms and floodlights.
Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: “When major incidents like this happen, the priority must be making sure people are safe, and vital public services are back up and running.
“But we know from the floods in 2014 that people want to get their lives back to normal as quickly as possible, and this includes the sports facilities they use every week.
“By launching this fund now, we can help make sure sports facilities are not forgotten and are ready to use as soon as people want them.”
The special fund will remain open until 1 February 2016 and those who need to get up and running quickly can request up to £5,000, while those with more extensive damage which will take longer to repair will be invited to apply for the fund.
Over 250 sports clubs were helped following a similar fund we launched in early 2014 to tackle the damage done to communities by devastating floods throughout England.
Sports minister Tracey Crouch MP said: “The floods have had a devastating impact on communities and the primary focus for many will be to try to get back to normality.
“This fund is just a small part of our wider package of support for affected areas – by helping restore sports facilities to their former glory, it will help to slowly rebuild the lives and everyday routine of these communities.”
Visit the Sport England Flood Relief Fund page to find out how to apply.
Please note: The Football Foundation is making funding available for football specific projects. If you have a football project in need of emergency funding please contact your County FA who will provide further information on how to apply.
A fund specifically for cricket clubs has been created by the Yorkshire Cricket Board, details of which can be found HERE.
We’d like to hear from clubs affected by the floods to establish what help we may be able to provide. Email west@yorkshiresport.org.
