British Cycling’s chief executive, Ian Drake, has hailed the contribution of Sport England after British Cycling passed the £10 million mark in investment in cycle sport facilities. The milestone was reached as construction work to develop a new closed road circuit in partnership with the University of Leeds got underway.
Government funding via Sport England was first awarded directly to national governing bodies in 2009 to support facility developments. Since then, British Cycling has ‘delivered on its promise to provide safe, traffic-free cycle sport facilities to cater for people of all ages and abilities.’
British Cycling adds that there have been over 1.5 million visits to facilities which have received British Cycling funding.
The £10 million investment from British Cycling has also attracted over £60 million funding from partner organisations to build 24 new and refurbish or improve 7 existing cycling facilities since 2009.
The funding is given to national governing bodies in order to help them grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and to create opportunities for people to excel.
Ian Drake added that he is delighted with the progress that British Cycling has been able to make on both fronts. “This £10million investment milestone in facilities is hugely significant, and gives us the opportunity to reflect on just how far our sport has come,” he said.
“In recent years, our elite athletes have excelled on the world stage, providing us with both a challenge and an opportunity – to use their fantastic success to facilitate an increase in participation at grassroots level.
“Thanks to the support we have received from Sport England, we have been able to invest in facility developments across the country, which are enabling people of all ages and abilities to get involved in the sport in safe, traffic-free environments.
“We are also very grateful to the local councils, authorities and organisations which have recognised the benefits of building new – or upgrading existing – cycling facilities.
“We recognise that there is still work to do in order to create a comprehensive network of facilities, but we will continue to work with Sport England and partner organisations to support projects which are helping to contribute to not only producing athletes of the future, but making our nation a healthier and more active one.”
Charles Johnston, property director at Sport England, said “Cycling is a fantastic sport and we want as many people as possible in England to be able to enjoy the benefits that it can bring to their lives.
“This £10 million investment milestone provides a good opportunity to review just how much money is being put into providing opportunities for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to have access to cycling facilities.
“We are very pleased with what we are seeing and hope to see even more opportunities provided in future.”
British Cycling manages the allocation of funding for purpose-built cycle sport facilities for the six cycling disciplines: road, track, BMX, mountain biking, cycle speedway and cyclo-cross.
The number of closed road circuits in England has risen from 14 in 2009 to 25 today, providing traffic-free environments for both cycle sport and recreational cycling. British Cycling is currently working with partners to complete a further 5 facility projects by March 2017.
Other notable facility openings since 2009 have included the redeveloped Herne Hill velodrome – the London facility where Sir Bradley Wiggins began cycling; the indoor velodrome at Derby Arena; and four specialist BMX venues.
