People of all ages in Leek & the Staffordshire Moorlands can look forward to decades of high-quality sport after Leek Rugby Club secured £50,000 of National Lottery investment from Sport England’s Protecting Playing Fields fund.

It comes as even more local sports fields across the country are to be safeguarded and improved after Sport England announced a 50% boost to the Olympic and Paralympic legacy fund. The £5 million increase, made possible by strong sales of National Lottery tickets, is in response to huge demand for the programme from sports clubs and other local groups.

The grant awarded to Leek RUFC will be put towards a total upgrade of the drainage under the main pitch at the club’s Cheddleton headquarters. Once completed, the pitch will be able to accommodate a significant increase in the number of training and competitive matches, resulting in a superb community sports facility in the area as well as a boost to the numbers of adults and young people participating in Rugby in Leek.

Sport England Chair, Nick Bitel, said: “The popularity of this legacy fund shows just how important good local playing fields are to grassroots sport. I’m delighted that even more communities will now benefit thanks to this extra lottery funding. But Sport England’s support for playing fields is about much more than money; every day our experts play a vital role in protecting sports provision through the planning system.”

Leek Rugby Club President, Gareth Jones said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this grant by Sport England. We know it was a tough selection process and it reflects well on the vision for Leek RUFC. We want to increase the number of people participating in rugby in Leek & Staffordshire Moorlands across all age groups. With the Rugby World Cup coming to England in 2015, there has never been a better time to invest in the facilities of clubs like Leek RUFC. We would like to thank Sport England for supporting our vision by backing us with the announcement of this award.”

Following a record number of bids, 76 projects across England have been successful in the fourth funding round and will share a total of £3.5 million. Over the four rounds, 727 pitches and nearly 2,600 acres across England have been protected and improved.

Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson, said: “The Protecting Playing Fields fund is a key part of the legacy from London 2012 improving facilities up and down the country. Good pitches, that can be used all year round, are vital to sustain and encourage sports participation. This additional lottery investment will help increase opportunities for people to get involved in sport.”

Detailed engineering feasibility studies will shortly be carried out on the pitch at Cheddleton by qualified turf agronomists with a view to putting the drainage project out to tender this summer. It is planned to have completed the drainage works at the Rugby Club no later than Spring 2015.

ENDS