An article will be published in this week’s Kent Messenger newspaper regarding our recent successful application for a £50,000 grant to rebuild the Ulley Road pavilion.

The article reads:

A cricket club in Ashford has secured Olympic legacy funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund.

The Inspired Facilities Fund is part of the £135 million Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country. Every sports facility that receives funding will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark – celebrating the link to the Games.

Kennington Cricket Club will receive £50,000 of National Lottery funding to replace their aging clubhouse on their ground in Ulley Road. The club, which has played on the ground since 1882, provides a rich sporting and community resource with over 50 adult and 100 junior members. The new building will serve other sports and community groups in the village and complements the many other recent improvements that have been made to the ground.

Sport England’s Chair, Richard Lewis, said: ‘This National Lottery investment will create a lasting sporting legacy for Ashford.’

Club President, Dr Peter Grant, said: ‘This award is further testimony to the vitality of the club and the high esteem in which it is held. I can remember my father and his friends building the old clubhouse themselves in 1965. He told me it cost £150! I’m afraid the new one will cost rather more but this award ensures the project will go ahead in the next few months.’

Local MP Damien Green said: ‘I am delighted that Sport England has recognised the tremendous work of Kennington cricket Club with this award. The club is one of the oldest in Ashford and their development of junior cricket and involvement with local community is exactly what we need.’

Kennington Cricket Club’s is one of hundreds of projects across England benefitting from Lottery investment through the second round of the Inspired Facilities Fund. And Sport England today launched a further £10 million funding round to help local community sports groups to upgrade their facilities. You can find our more at www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities. Bids will be accepted from 23 July 2012.

Places People Play is being delivered by Sport England, working in partnership with the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) with the backing of The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the London 2012 Inspire mark.

LOCOG Chair, Seb Coe, said: ‘This is a fantastic project that will deliver a real legacy to the people of Kennington from the London 2012 Games. It will provide a whole range of sporting opportunities for young people through improved facilities and will I hope inspire them to take up sport.’

For more details about the project, please contact John Cunningham on 01233 612162 or Peter Grant on 07771 603 664.

For more information about Sport England, contact Natasha Quinn on 020 7273 1889.