Sport and Leisure Capital Grant

Application Guidance Notes

• Eligibility Criteria

  The Capital Grants are available to local Sports Clubs that apply for funding for the development of new facilities or the enhancement of existing facilities that meet evidenced based need.

  1. Clubs must be based in the Borough.

  2. Club sport must be recognised by Sport NI, Irish or a UK Governing body.

  3. Retrospective applications will not be considered.

  4. Any applicants who have received funding from the Capital works category will not be eligible for further funding for a period of 3 rolling years from completion (completion date is date of last payment from Council).

  5. To be eligible organisations must be established for a minimum period of over 5 years.

  6. Evidence that funding is in place (outside of the application to Council) at the time of the application e.g. funding letter of offer from other funder, letter of intent, bank statements.

  7. Organisations must have a minimum of £10M public liability in place or be willing to obtain this cover.

  8. Projects should not duplicate current provision and applications should demonstrate evidenced based need.

  9. Applicants will obtain and maintain all appropriate statutory approvals and at all times comply with legislative requirements.

  10. Applicants must maintain adequate insurance to indemnify Council, users and visitors during and after project completion.

  11. Applicants may not assign any interest in the property without the written consent of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

  12. Applications must demonstrate how the project will enhance sporting facilities with at least 50% additional playing/competing/training capacity.

• Exclusions

  Council will not fund the following:

  • Legal costs incurred by the recipient organisation in relation to this grant are not covered under the letter of offer.

  • Organisations that cannot provide evidence of lease/ownership of land/ facility.

  • Projects that have already commenced at the time of application.

  • Refurbishment work to premises.

  • Works needed to repair and maintain existing facilities.

  • Projects which are essentially to maintain and upkeep a facility rather than improve playing competing / training capacity.

  • Specific minor components in a substantive scheme (e.g. a minor enhancement programme including minor footpath amendments, fencing, gates, car parking, drainage, exterior security lighting, or hand rail provision, etc.).

  • Council are unlikely to fund an organisation that is in poor financial health or cannot show effective financial control.

• Evaluation Criteria

  If your application has met all of the eligibility criteria the panel will use the following criteria to score your application:

  1. Compliance for Good Governance: Constitution, Organisation’s Management/Development Plan, Sports Development Plan,  Equal Opportunities (only if you employ staff), Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk of Harm policy.

  2. What beneficial outcomes will be created by your project? As stated on the application “try to quantify this e.g. number of extra participants, expected income”.

  3. On completion of the project, what (if any) new activities or services will you be able to accommodate.

  4. Which section of the community is expected to benefit from this project?

  5. Estimated numbers of users per week.

  6. How does this project meet the needs of the Council’s Corporate Plan? e.g. Place, People, Prosperity & Performance.

  7. Please Explain how the club will enhance the facility with additional playing capacity by 50%.

  8. Contribution to the local economy.

• Maximum Grants Awarded

  Total project cost must be in excess of £40,000.

  Maximum award: Costs up to a maximum of £20,000 

• Sport and Leisure Grants FAQs

  • My son is currently on the Ulster development panel in the sport of golf, and plays in national competitions, can he apply for a grant?

    If your son is a resident from the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough, he is eligible to apply for Grants to Athletes as follows:
    
    The Grant to Athletes category is available to Elite and aspiring high performers who can demonstrate that they are competing (or have the potential to compete) at the highest level in their sport.  

    Applications will only be considered from individuals competing at the following levels:

    • International (individual or as part of a team) at elite level*.
    • National (individual or as part of a team) at elite level*.
    • Provincial*
    • Veterans/ Masters

    *Elite level: Northern Ireland, Ireland, Great Britain, United Kingdom or if the particular sport is administered and organised only on at County/Provincial / Ulster basis (e.g. Rugby and Badminton) then this will also be considered.

    Please note your son may not meet the criteria set out below, as Golf is also administrated at a National level, and would therefore need to be on an Irish squad/panel or have achieved a national accolade in order to meet the criteria for funding.

    The criteria for this grant is as follows:

    Criteria

    Key achievements over the last 12 months e.g. rankings, medals, selection for elite squads.

    At what level are you competing i.e. International, national, regional, provincial

    How will you acknowledge Council support if your application is successful

  • I coach for a club inside Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough but am a resident from a different borough, can I apply for a grant under coaches and officials?

    No, in order to be eligible for a grant, you need to be a resident within Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough.

  • I am an elite shooter and have competed for N.I. in the Commonwealth games, Can I apply for grants to athletes to cover equipment costs?

    No the Leisure Grant scheme, grants to athletes does not cover equipment costs for athlete, this I an ineligible item.

    Council will not fund the following (list not exhaustive):

    • Individuals who are:
      • i. Professional athletes
      • ii. Not residents in the Borough;
      • iii. Are competing in a sport that is not recognised by Sport NI, Irish or a UK Governing body;
    • Costs not clearly linked to the athletes sport
    • Costs that are already covered by other funding or income sources
    • Clothing and kit
    • Equipment
    • Refreshments
    • Club membership
    • Road tolls
    • Car, travel or personal insurance
    • Coach / parental accompaniment to travel to events alongside athlete (coach must apply independently).
    • Individuals who are on training or development squads
    • Parental accompaniment to attend competition
  • Do the Council fund defibrillators for community and sports groups?

    Yes, Council have a grant stream specifically for Defibrillators The Defibrillator Grant category is available for local Sports Clubs/Community groups who wish to apply for funding towards the purchase of a defibirillator and associated security casing where applicable.

    Applicants may apply for up to a maximum of £1,500 100% funded.

    1.  Applicant organisations must be a based in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough
    2. Applicants must demonstrate that they have a minimum of two members trained to use a defibrillator, or who can demonstrate they have members working towards their qualification.
    3. Applicants are required to produce 3 quotes of similar specification.
    4. Profitable organisations will not be considered in this scheme.
  • I am a member of a local football club and would like to enquire about funding towards running an IFA foundation coaching course to put 15 of our volunteers through their coaching badge.

    Through the grants to Clubs category, Clubs from the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough are eligible to apply for up to £1,500 towards a coach education. If your sports club has met all of the eligibility conditions, we will use the following criteria to score your application. 

    Compliance with good governance: Constitution, Organisation’s Management/Development Plan, Sports Development Plan,  Equal Opportunities (only if you employ staff), Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk of Harm policy

    Key achievements over the last 12 months: e.g. results, new members etc.

    Levels of membership in the club e.g. Juniors, Seniors, Women, Men, Vets, Individuals with Special requirements.

    How will the grant enhance club development?

    The project is clearly defined well planned and has provided excellent rationale and evidence to justify investment: e.g. Increased number of participants, increased number of club categories, improved performance levels, engagement with the community / schools/ other organisations, new education opportunities.

  • Our club has recently installed a new 3g pitch, do Council fund floodlighting?

    The Grants for Clubs category is available to support Sports Clubs who can clearly demonstrate their potential perform at a high level within their respective sports or who aspire to develop within their sport. 

    There are three strands available:

    1. Education and Competition: (up to £1,500)
    2. Specialist Equipment with a lifespan exceeding 5 years: (up to £7,500)*
    3. Facility improvement: for applicants that wish to improve performance and increase participation levels or capacity through minor improvements to facilities. (up to £10,000)*

    Applications to strands 2 or 3 will only be accepted from a club every 2 years.
    Applicants can apply annually under strand 1.

    Council will not fund the following (not exhaustive) in this category:

    • Any salaries associated with events or coaches
    • Equipment purchase (available only for new clubs)
    • Equipment hire
    • Clothing
    • Club membership
    • Insurance costs
    • Alcohol / refreshments
    • General running costs for clubs,  e.g. rates, electricity etc.
    • Specialist coaching assessments or officials
    • Facility improvements to a facility where there has been a negligible approach to proper management of the facility
    • Equipment with a short life span, e.g. balls, bibs or similar
    • Safety equipment which is necessary as a basic requirement for the sport, i.e. hockey goal keepers padding, high performance googles/swimming costumes, helmets, gloves
    • Fencing
    • Storage facilities

    If your sports club has met all of the eligibility conditions, we will use the following criteria to score your application.

    Compliance with good governance: Constitution, Organisation’s Management/Development Plan, Sports Development Plan,  Equal Opportunities (only if you employ staff), Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk of Harm policy.

    Key achievements over the last 12 months: e.g. results, new members etc.

    Levels of membership in the club e.g. Juniors, Seniors, Women, Men, Vets, Individuals with Special requirements.

    How will the grant enhance club development? The project is clearly defined well planned and has provided excellent rationale and evidence to justify investment: e.g. Increased number of participants, increased number of club categories, improved performance levels, engagement with the community / schools/ other organisations, new education opportunities.

  • When will I be notified if my grant has been successful/unsuccessful?

    Application timeframe:

    Call Number	Opens	Closes	Notification of outcome
    1	8 April 24	31 May 24	July 24
    2	1 June 24	31 July 24	September 24
    3	1 August 24	31 October 24	December 24
    4	1 November 24	31 December 24	February 25
    5	1 January 25	28 February 25	April 25

     

    For example, if an applicant applies anytime during call 2 (1^st June – 31^st July) all applications will be scored during the month of August and prepared for decision at Committee during the month of September.

You can download a copy of the guidelines above: Sport and Leisure Capital Grant Applicant Information.

Please note, we encourage applicants to read our standard Terms and Conditions for Leisure Grants.

For queries about any of our Leisure Grants, please contact the team on T. 028 9446 3113

Apply Now