Sports projects across England are today celebrating after receiving a share of £17 million from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund with Metis Aerospace’s sports club in Redditch awarded £50,000 for new tennis courts. .

Since 2011, the fund has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport.

Sport England property director, Charles Johnston, said: “The Inspired Facilities fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011, we’ve invested £88 million into more than 1,600 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.

“It’s great to see these latest projects join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from this fund.”

The next round of the Inspired Facilities fund is now open so many more communities can benefit from the hugely popular fund. Community and voluntary organisations, councils and schools can bid for a share of a further £20 million which has been made available to help upgrade facilities that can be unattractive, expensive to run and difficult to maintain, and to convert existing non-sporting buildings into venues that are suitable for grassroots sport.

Minister for Sport Helen Grant said: “The Inspired Facilities fund is giving a huge boost to grassroots sport across the country and with £88 million invested it has already helped 1,600 sports clubs maintain and improve their facilities. With an additional £20 million of National Lottery money now available and the application process made easier I would urge local sports clubs to look at how this fund can help them create more opportunities for people to get involved in sport.”

Applying for funding has never been easier. Based on feedback from previous applicants, the Inspired Facilities fund is now an open programme which means projects can submit applications as soon as they are ready rather than being restricted by a specific deadline. To find out more and bid, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.