Olympic legacy on track for Oldham

SPORTS groups across Oldham were promised a slice of a £135 million pot for better facilities and training yesterday so they can be “touched by the magic” of the 2012 Olympics in London.

They were urged to draw up imaginative plans to improve sports centres and pitches while an army of volunteers organises sporting activities to ensure the games leave a lasting legacy.

But sports minister Hugh Robertson immediately faced accusations of giving with one hand while taking away with the other, as protests grow over scrapping of School Sport Partnerships (SSPs).

All 450 partnerships across the UK — bodies to increase pupil participation in sport, by improving links between schools and clubs — will disappear, as part of a £160 million cut to school sport.

Asked about the controversy, Mr Robertson insisted the overall budget for schools was increasing, while head teachers would enjoy greater freedom over how they spend money. And he disputed the track record of SSPs, adding: “There have been some places where it’s worked very well — others where, to be honest, it’s worked less well.”

The SSPs are credited with helping boost the number of children taking part in school sport for two hours a week from under 25 per cent, when Labour came to power in 1997, to more than 90 per cent.

Mr Robertson said the Lottery-funded cash would deliver:

::£50m to modernise and extend 1,000 sports facilities — giving grants of between £25,000 and £150,000 to clubs and community groups.

::£30m to develop large iconic sports centres that are “regionally significant for at least two sports and can demonstrate long-term financial viability.”

::£10m to improve playing fields, to guarantee their future for 25 years.

::A £32m ‘Sportivate’ project, to allow hundreds of thousands of 14 to 25-year-olds to enjoy six weeks of coaching at a local venue.

::A £4m ‘Gold Challenge’, to motivate 100,000 people to take up Olympic and Paralympic sports, while raising millions of pounds for charity.

::£2m to recruit and train 40,000 “sports leaders”, willing to volunteer for at least 10 hours in areas and sports where participation is lowest.

The sports minister added: “This is the cornerstone of a grassroots legacy from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“With more Lottery money being invested in facilities, volunteering and protecting and improving playing fields, there will be opportunities for everyone to get involved.”

But Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour’s former sports minister, attacked the scrapping of sports partnerships.

He said: “This is an attack on a generation that will miss out on the opportunity of taking part in many sports.”