A £1.1 MILLION purpose built sports centre can now be built at Lampton School in Hounslow after a grant from the National Lottery.
The Lampton Sports Centre will consist of a four-court sports hall for badminton, basketball, netball and volleyball, and a fully equipped LifeCentre gym. It will provide Lampton School with a much needed indoor sports facility for its 1,300 pupils and the local community with a modern, high quality centre for fitness and well being.
The good news was announced this week by the New Opportunities Fund, the UK's largest lottery distributor, which values the project as an example of how schools are forming links with the local community. Lampton School's head teacher Sue John said, "The whole community will benefit from this sports hall. It is a testament to the efforts of many people, especially our pupils and parents who have worked so hard and patiently to achieve this result".
The LifeCentre gym, managed by CIP, will be open seven days a week, and priced in line with CIP's other leisure facilities. The sports hall will be available for use by clubs and other community users outside of school hours. Building starts on site in early summer 2004 and will be completed in early 2005.
Manoj Ambasna, the chair of the Board of CIP Trustees, said: "CIP in partnership with the council are committed to providing high quality leisure, cultural and sports facilities across the borough. With the announcement of the New Opportunities Fund award, CIP, along with all the projects' partners and advocates, are pleased that we are now able to provide a fantastic new sports centre for Lampton School and residents in the local community. All the parties involved in this venture have worked incredibly hard to bring this project to fruition. CIP can now look forward to managing and delivering this as the first of a number of planned new leisure projects in conjunction with the council."
The funding comes from the New Opportunities Fund PE and Sports in Schools programme. The programme aims to improve school facilities and increase participation in physical activity by both school pupils and community users. Partnership funding has been secured from Hounslow's New Deal for Schools which has contributed £548,000 and from CIP, which has committed £300,000 to the project.
"This is very welcome news not just for Lampton School but also for the local community. Students at the school will benefit from a modern sports hall and local residents will use the facilities outside of school times. Secondary schools in Hounslow are an integral part of the local communities, and new buildings and services such as this reinforce the importance of these partnerships," commented Councillor Ellar, the Executive member for Lifelong Learning.
The London Borough of Hounslow commissioned CIP to manage the portfolio of 17 New Opportunities Fund projects for schools across the borough, of which the Lampton School project is the largest and the first to have been awarded funding. Other projects to look forward to in the future range from playground markings and fitness trails to a tennis court and multi use games area.
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