As part of a UK-wide consortium led by the English Federation of Disability Sport, Nottingham City Council has secured funding for an initiative called ‘Get Out & Get Active’ to support disabled and non-disabled people to take up sport and physical activity.
Spirit of 2012, a charity set up with money from the Big Lottery Fund to carry forward the spirit of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has awarded £4.5 million to the UK consortium. Nottingham’s exact share of this funding has not yet been confirmed.
The funding will not focus on providing new activities, but aims to increase demand for, and the accessibility of, existing provision in Nottingham by the council, sports clubs and the voluntary sector. Funding will be used for:
- Targeted market research
- To develop the existing disability activity offer
- To support people to get involved, including raising awareness of the opportunities available.
Cllr Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said: “Playing sport and being active can have a massive impact on people’s quality of life. We have some great sports facilities and activities here in Nottingham, and this funding will enable us to reach and support people who currently undertake little activity so that they can access these and benefit too.
“Disabled people make up almost one fifth of the UK’s population and should have every opportunity to be as active as non-disabled people. Yet they are half as likely to be active as non-disabled people. We know from research that most disabled people want to be more active, and many would prefer to take part in sport and physical activity with a mix of disabled and non-disabled people. This funding will help us to achieve our manifesto pledge for Nottingham to be the UK’s fastest growing city for disability sport participation.”
Barry Horne, Chief Executive for the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) said: “I am absolutely delighted that our consortium has been chosen by Spirit of 2012 to oversee such a major investment into communities across the UK. The programme will deliver exciting new opportunities for disabled people to ‘Get Out & Get Active’!
“We believe this programme has the potential to change how people can be encouraged and enabled to become more active in the opportunities which are on their doorstep but for so long have seemed out of reach. EFDS has learnt so much through our research with disabled people about new approaches to engage many more people into active recreation, and over the next four years our local and national partners will put that thinking into practice across the UK.”