European Regional Development Fund

Written evidence submitted by the Sport and Recreation Alliance

Introduction

The Sport and Recreation Alliance is the national alliance of governing and representative bodies of sport and recreation in the UK. Our 320 members represent 150,000 clubs across the country and some 8 million regular participants. The Sport and Recreation Alliance exists to promote the role of sport and recreation in healthy and active lifestyles, to encourage a policy and regulatory environment in which sport from grassroots through to elite level can flourish, and to provide high quality services to help its members continually improve and progress.

Sport and development

Sport is a fast growing area and a catalyst for economic development. The sport sector is valued at around 3.65% [1] of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is also an important source of public and private expenditure, such as that spent on infrastructure, during major events and on consumption. Sport structures and leisure facilities, especially at local level, will require innovative investment and reconfiguration to meet the evolving sport and physical activity needs of the 21st century.

Health enhancing physical activity is an effective way to prevent chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression and osteoporosis. In the context of ageing societies, health enhancing physical activity is not only crucial for improving the physical and mental wellbeing of Europe’s citizens, but also helps to reduce the costs of welfare systems.

In 2008, EU Sport Ministers informally endorsed EU Physical Activity Guidelines recommending how policies and practices at EU, national and local levels can be used to make it easier for citizens to be physically active as part of their daily lives. The guidelines cover a variety of sectors as diverse as sport, health, education, transport, urban planning, public safety and the working environment. The structural funds should be used to support the implementation of the guidelines in the Member States for the benefit of society.

Sport is considered to be "a dynamic growth sector and constitutes a real instrument of social cohesion and has a very important social, health and financial impact in the EU and its regions. It can greatly contribute to local development of both infrastructure and economy and serve as a major tourist attraction." Additionally, sport should be given better recognition "of its contribution to the overall goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy, considering the sector’s strong potential to contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and new jobs and considering its positive effects on social inclusion, education and training as well as public health and active ageing". [2]

ERDF and Sport

The European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union as well as the Committee of the Regions have repeatedly called for the specific inclusion of sports and sport related activities in the structural funds. [3] Indeed, this was also one of the recommendations from the 2011 House of Lords inquiry into Grassroots sport and the EU [4] .

The Alliance fully supports these positions and continues to work with its European partners in order for sport to be explicitly mentioned in the Structural Fund regulations for 2014-2020.

Whilst this level of recognition at European level would be extremely helpful, there is a major role for the UK development authorities to play as well. The Alliance believes that the ERDF could be far better exploited by providing funding for more sport related development projects. This can be achieved by recognising the important value that sport related projects have across a variety of policy fields including health, social cohesion, employment and tourism. In order for this to happen, it is important to ensure that such funding opportunities are widely communicated so that potential applicants at local and regional level are aware of the possibilities available to them.

Examples of successful projects funded by ERDF

The following examples illustrate the value of some of the projects that the ERDF has funded in the UK and Europe. The Alliance believes that sport should be more widely recognised for the crucial role that it can play in regional development and hopes to see funding granted to more and more similar projects in the years to come:

· The National Indoor BMX centre in Manchester was completed in 2011 and was co-financed with ERDF money. Together with the Manchester Velodrome it forms the National Cycling Centre, which is a fantastic facility for both local residents and world-class athletes alike. Further ERDF funds have been used to improve transport links and infrastructure in the surrounding area to make the facilities more accessible to the local community.

· A company based in Cornwall which designs and manufactures innovative and interactive youth sports and exercise equipment has expanded into international markets with ERDF support. The company now employs a number of people from the local area which would not have been possible with the ERDF funding.

· The Sporting Chance Initiative helps Scottish businesses with less than 250 employees to develop new products and services for sports markets. With the help of ERDF funding it provides up-to-date market information and access to world class expertise, research and facilities in Higher Education, as well as funding to assist with research projects.

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· " Flaeming-skate " is a trekking area located south of Berlin for skaters, cyclists   and disability sports . Completed in 2006, it was specifically designed to promote regional tourism and health enhancing physical activity across all ages. More than 210 km long, the path attracts fitness enthusiasts of all ages and from all over the country.

· The "Sportgemeinschaft (SG) Marssel", was a local club located in a deprived neighbourhood of the city of Bremen in northern Germany. The sport centre was renovated and expanded into a specially designed sport and health orientated neighbourhood centre with the help of ERDF funds. A wide range of sporting activities are offered and the club’s facilities are accessible to all residents as part of a wider scale urban regeneration scheme.

· The Atlas Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Łó dz , Poland built with the help of ERDF funds . The arena hosts a variety of events ranging from conferences and concerts to multiple sport events (including basketball, volleyball, athletics and ice hockey). The arena is also the biggest concert venue in Poland and can hold almost 14 000 people . The project has contributed significantly to an increase of regional tourism in the Łó dz region.

Conclusion

The Alliance recommends that the Committee should:

1. Encourage sport to be explicitly included in the regulations for the Structural Funds for 2014-2020 which are currently being negotiated at European level.

2. Highlight the important role that sport can play in regional development and ensure that the regional authorities responsible for distributing ERDF funds exploit the full potential of sport by using it as a tool for driving social change. In such a way, more funds should be directed towards sports related projects in the UK.

3. Ensure that ERDF funding streams are widely communicated at local and regional level so that more potential applicants are aware of the funding opportunities available to them.

The Sport and Recreation Alliance welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation, and would be happy to follow up on any issues that arise from this response.

David Foster

UK & EU Regulatory Officer