24 Nov 2002 - 01 Jan 2003
New Pitches for Regent's Park
Regent's Park

Regent's Park's listed landscape is home to London's largest and most popular open air sports area but it has been so heavily used over the years that a £5 million programme of renovation and restoration is urgently required.

An event to celebrate £1 million being raised for this programme took place today in Regent's Park. Attendees included Rt. Hon Baroness Blackstone, Minister of State and Minister for the Arts, local community sports groups, sporting celebrities from the surrounding Regent's Park & Primrose Hill area, sponsors and Royal Parks staff.

The forty sports pitches in Regent's Park are built on bomb rubble from the Blitz, some of which is over 10 feet in depth. This leads to major drainage and maintenance issues, especially when combined with heavy use by local schools, community groups and even professional clubs such as QPR & Arsenal.

The Royal Parks has launched a two-year, £5 million programme to renovate the pitches and build a brand new pavilion. A dedicated Community Sports Development Officer will also be recruited to ensure even more community involvement in sports in Regent's Park.

Sport forms a key part of government and community strategies to combat anti-social behaviour and promote social inclusion, as well as healthy living. Regent's Park's renovated pitches will be a vital extension to the facilities of local schools and estates, enabling groups and individuals to exercise formally and informally in a countryside setting.

The Royal Parks receives no direct funding for its sports facilities yet nonetheless The Royal Parks has raised £1 million by looking at innovative sources of money:

* The Star Trek Exhibition - Based in Hyde Park and recently given provisional planning approval by Westminster City Council. A total of £300,000 from this project will be partnership funding to release lottery awards. An application for £750,000 is currently with the Football Foundation. (Hyde Park itself will be getting over £300,000 from the Star Trek Exhibition for ecology, restoration & education.)
* New Opportunities Fund - £500,000 award agreed for pitch restoration.
* Nike - Provided £35,000 for the Community Sports Development Officer. This total has been matched by another £35,000 from Sportsmatch.
* London Marathon Charitable Trust and other sources have provided a total of over £100,000.

Rt. Hon Baroness Blackstone, Minister of State and Minister for the Arts, said, "Take up of sports is crucial to the health of the nation and the DCMS wants 75% of children to have at least two hours a week of high quality PE by 2006. Projects such as the renovation of the Regent's Park pitches and pavilion will certainly contribute to these aims and I congratulate The Royal Parks on their fund raising to date."

David Caselton, Regent's Park Manager, said, "Some of the local schools and estates simply don't have the sports facilities that we can provide, so we have gone into the community to explain what we've got and the response has been fantastic. The renovation will be expensive but will be a crucial contribution to our neighbourhood. Through hard work we've built up enough smaller chunks of money to release big blocks of central funding and have reached over £1 million. This is enough for total restoration of the football pitches but there is more still to do, including the new pavilion."

Source:
The Royal Parks

For more information contact:
Royal Parks Press Office, T: +44 (0)20 7298 2128 M: +44 (0)7970 660 132

Editor's notes:
Regent's Park currently has 40 pitches and following the renovation there will be 47 pitches (18 football pitches, 14 softball pitches, 6 cricket fields, 4 rounders pitches, 3 hockey pitches, a rugby pitch, and a running track).

Government has a goal of enhancing take-up of sporting opportunities by 5-16 year olds by increasing the percentage of schoolchildren who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sports within and beyond the curriculum from 25% in 2002 to 75% by 2006.

Millions of Londoners and tourists visit the eight Royal Parks for free each year. The 5,000 acres of carefully preserved historic parkland provide unparalleled opportunities for enjoyment, exploration and healthy living in the heart of the capital.

The Royal Parks are: Bushy Park, Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park (with Primrose Hill), Richmond Park and St James's Park.