Seven sports clubs in Shropshire are due to get upgrades, thanks to a government funding scheme. Stuart Anderson, South Shropshire’s Conservatives Parliamentary Candidate, welcomed the investment which equips the local clubs with £10,000 - including £4,000 for South Shropshire. The investment for Shropshire’s sports clubs are delivered via the Government’s Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which is investing over £320 million between 2021 and 2025 to level up facilities across the whole of the UK.
Stuart said that the investment will enable local venues to make essential facility improvements, so that local communities have high-quality pitches to play on. It includes £492 for Bishop's Castle Town Football Club, £662 for Clun and District Memorial Hall and Playing Fields; and £2,886 for Coreley Football Club. Also in Shropshire, Baschurch Football Club will get £1,400; Barnoldswick Barons Football Club will get £731; Saha Football Club will get £1,744; and Shrewsbury Up and Comers Football Club will get £2,925. The funding can be spent by the local clubs on improving the natural and artificial grass pitches on offer to communities and upgrading floodlights, goalposts, changing rooms, and toilet facilities. So far, 2,300 sites have been supported.
The funding is part of the Government's ambitious ‘Get Active Strategy’ to get over 3.5 million people more active by 2030, including 1 million young people. There is a further Government investment of over £120 million to come next year - including £25 million towards the £30 million Lionesses Futures Fund, which will deliver up to 30 state of the art 3G artificial pitches across the country with gold-standard provision for women and girls.
Stuart Anderson said: “It is vital that everyone, regardless of their background or location, has access to world-class sports facilities. That's why I am delighted that sports clubs across Shropshire will benefit from this extra investment worth £10,000. This funding will deliver on the Government’s mission to ensure that every community has the pitches and facilities that it needs. So far, 2,300 sites have been supported - with the seven venues in Shropshire now joining them. With a further Government investment of over £120 million to come, this funding will continue to support grassroots sport clubs in rural communities like Shropshire.”
Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said: “Sport and physical activity are vital to our mental health and wellbeing, and each year thousands of people make a New Year’s resolution to exercise more. We know one of the major barriers to getting active is having access to high-quality sports facilities, which is why we are investing in 1,100 more projects, backed by £93 million. This government has delivered thousands of new projects across the UK with the aim of getting over 120,000 more people to get active, helping us to make big strides towards meeting our ambitious target of 3.5 million more people active by 2030.”
A full list of the projects can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2023-to-2024.
