A £1.1 million Lottery boost for sport in Pennine Lancashire has been announced by Communities Minister Baroness Kay Andrews.
The money is part of a £3,682,000 package that will go to Sport and Physical Activity Alliances (SPAAs) in Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale and Ribble Valley.
The Lottery money has been channelled through Sport England while a wide range of partners including national sport governing bodies, local authorities, Age Concern, the Arts Council and East Lancashire Primary Care Trust along with the Government’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative have contributed to the overall total.
Baroness Andrews said:
“Sport and physical activity can play a major part in changing communities and improving lives for the better. I am delighted that local partners have got together through the Sport and Physical Activity Alliances in Pennine Lancashire with such an outstanding result.
“Enjoying sport is fun, but also keeps people healthy and away from GPs and hospitals helping to lighten the load on the NHS.
“The work being carried out by Elevate, the housing market renewal pathfinder, is vital to the future of Pennine Lancashire. Providing new and improved homes is a major step forward and this initiative will support the community to enjoy a healthy and happy future.”
The SPAAs are a local system for delivering sport to where it is needed. The five in Pennine Lancashire have identified projects to meet the needs of local people.
Notes to Editors
1. For more information on SPAAS and their projects please contact James Ventham at Lancashire Sports Partnership on 01995 642234.
2. The Minister will also be seeing the local benefits of the Living Places programme, which brings together central government and the national cultural agencies and works to encourage greater public benefit from the arts, sport, public spaces, heritage, museums, libraries and archives. Living Places’ members are the Arts Council England, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, English Heritage, Museums Libraries and Archives, the Regional Cultural Consortium, Sport England, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and Communities and Local Government.
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT BY GNN NORTH WEST
Press releases from DCLG can be viewed on www.coi.gov.uk/nds