The London Marathon Charitable Trust announces New Grants totalling £1.02 million

The London Marathon Charitable Trust has today announced new grants totalling more than £1.02 million for projects in London and Surrey, taking the total amount of money awarded in The Trust’s history to more than £65.5million.

The Trust supports organisations with a track record of getting people more active by providing funding towards capital projects which encourage and support people who are currently inactive to participate regularly in sport and physical activity.

The latest grants include £300,000 to The Royal Parks towards improvements to the outdoor sports facilities in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park in the City of Westminster to offer year-round participation opportunities and to increase community use of the facilities in these famous locations.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Virgin Money London Marathon and Prudential RideLondon are massive highlights of the year for the runners, the riders, the thousands of spectators on our streets and the millions watching on TV. But what often fails to get the recognition it deserves is the vast amount of support that The London Marathon Charitable Trust provides for our communities. The grants they have announced today will make a big difference to the lives of thousands of Londoners, and huge thanks must go to everyone who has contributed to The London Marathon Charitable Trust.”

The £300,000 investment in The Royal Parks will improve the quality and range of sport and physical activity facilities at two of the most historic and well used parks in London. £150,000 will go towards upgrading the tennis facilities and providing a new Multi-Use Games Area suitable for football and netball in Hyde Park. A second £150,000 will go towards improving the tennis facilities and providing new netball, mini-tennis and padel tennis facilities in Regent’s Park.

The Royal Parks is committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity across its sites and these facility improvements will offer a much broader range of activities and opportunities which will benefit the whole local community as well as visitors from further afield. The projects will allow a far broader range of activities to take place at both sites, including initiatives targeted at physically inactive groups such as Silver Sunday tennis aimed at people aged 65 and over, cardio tennis, fun padel tennis for families, disability tennis, walking football and a variety of sessions aimed at women and girls.

Toynbee Hall in Tower Hamlets received a grant of £76,666 towards a new Centre for Wellbeing which will have a major impact on tackling physical inactivity among older people in Tower Hamlets by providing a modern, accessible and flexible space suitable for a variety of physical activities.

Graham Fisher, Chief Executive of Toynbee Hall, said: “We are delighted to be able to create a new Centre for Wellbeing with the support of The London Marathon Charitable Trust. The Centre will house our seated exercise and tai chi programme, supporting older people to maintain their health, stamina and independence. The Trust understands how providing these activities for physically inactive people can improve mental and physical health and create vital social networks, and we are very pleased to work with them in Tower Hamlets.”

The Trust is able to distribute grants in all areas where London Marathon Events Limited organises events which includes Surrey, which hosts part of the routes for the Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling.

Three Surrey organisations were awarded grants: Cranleigh Riding for the Disabled Association Group receive a grant of £150,000 towards improvements to the indoor riding school at Casi’s Farm and the expansion of a popular riding programme which benefits people with disabilities and additional needs who otherwise would not take part in any sport and physical activity.

Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets were awarded a grant of £75,000 towards the development of a new training centre by the Thames in Elmbridge which will provide a larger, more accessible, flood-proof building which can support a variety of water-based and regular sports and physical activities for the benefit of a broad spectrum of the local community.

Mole Valley District Council was awarded £19,999 towards the refurbishment of the skate park in Kingston Road Recreation Ground, which is used by older teenagers and young adults.

Other grants included support for SPID Theatre Company, which received a grant of £17,180 towards the refurbishment of Kensal House Estate’s community rooms, located in a deprived ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The funding will go towards replacement of windows, repairing the water damaged ceiling and installing a partial sprung floor for use during various classes including zumba, kung-fu and gymnastics. The refurbishments will enable the company to provide programmes to increase the number of inactive estate residents taking part in physical activity sessions.

Integrated Neurological Services (INS) received a grant of £6,250 towards the purchase of a specialist treadmill for use with its clients. The West London charity provides ongoing rehabilitation, education and support for more than 600 people with long term neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, strokes, multiple sclerosis and many others. The equipment and support from INS will provide a bridge to public gyms by introducing service users to appropriate equipment through an individualised and tailored plan to suit their own complex needs.

The full breakdown of grants awarded is as follows:

The London Marathon Charitable Trust provides grants towards capital projects that inspire people to lead a more active lifestyle and increase the number of people regularly taking part in sports and physical activities.

Organisations and projects in the 32 London boroughs and the City of London, Surrey, South Northamptonshire District Council area and Aylesbury Vale District Council area are eligible to apply for funding.

The next deadline for 2017 is 17:00 on Tuesday 18 April and The Trust is actively seeking high quality applications from eligible organisations. For more information on The Trust or the Capital Grants programmes, please visit www.lmct.org.uk or email info@lmct.org.uk.