More than 100 sports clubs and organisations have received grants from Sport England’s emergency storm relief fund in just a week.
Set up to help those affected by Storms Ciara and Dennis, the fund has seen grants from hundreds of pounds to £5,000 awarded to clubs and organisations across the country.
Many are still unable to safely access their facilities in places like the Wye and Severn Valleys, but the fund – which awards National Lottery grants through the Community Asset Fund application portal – remains open, with a quick decision process and access to cash for places in need.
The Environment Agency considers 1 in 3 facilities in a number of sports to be at risk of flooding - compared to 1 in 6 for regular properties
Playing fields and clubhouses are particularly vulnerable to flooding in England, because many of them are located on flood plains as a result of the cheaper, flatter land.
Sport England’s funding is often used for decontamination, skip hire, equipment replacement and access repair, and our executive director of property, Charles Johnston, is glad the organisation can play a part in getting facilities back into a usable state.
"Floods can have a devastating impact on local sports organisations, causing damage to clubhouses and grounds and denying communities a chance to play sport, often for weeks and months on end,” he said.
“We've developed guidance on how clubs can take action to protect themselves from extreme weather conditions, which includes drought as well as flooding, and our flood relief fund is available to help clubs deal with the immediate impact.
“In the longer term we will work with communities, as we have with Carlisle since they were devastated by the floods of recent years, to make their facilities more resilient to the effects of climate change.”
