£50m plan to secure 2014 Games legacy

Published on Saturday 18 October 2008 19:41

A £50M PLAN to ensure the benefits of Scotland's Commonwealth Games are felt for generations has been handed to UK ministers amid growing signs that they are to set to back the campaign for a lasting legacy.

The scheme, proposed by Glasgow city chiefs, would see the building of two new sports academies, for talented youngsters from across Scotland to get specialist coaching.

The city council also wants to spend millions shedding Glasgow's image as the sick man of Europe by trying to get 40,000 people active, a move they believe will lift people out of the poverty trap.

The proposal will now be considered by UK ministers, who are under growing pressure to hand Scotland a Lottery bonus ahead of the 2014 Games, following a campaign led by this newspaper.

The calls for cash – first raised by the SNP Government and Glasgow city chiefs earlier this year – began after it emerged that the 2.2bn spending going towards the London Olympics will mean that Scotland's share of Lottery funding is set to fall over coming years.

Sports bodies and politicians in Scotland insist that it is only fair for the Commonwealth Games, the cost of which is being met from public funds, to itself receive Lottery funding.

Along with Glasgow City Council, the Big Lottery Fund – the country's largest lottery distributor – yesterday unveiled its own wishlist.

If a Commonwealth Lottery fund is given, it said it would want to fund a major anti-crime scheme, to be run by Strathclyde Police, as well as bids to pay for improved gym facilities across the country.

Top of Glasgow's wish list is a plan to offer unlimited free access for all under-16s to sport and recreational activities provided by the council. The 15m plan would extend the current free swimming scheme, which was used by nearly a quarter of a million children last year.

The council says it also wants a further 10m to create a network of new sports clubs in poorer parts of the city.

If successful, it will also create two new sports academies, which would be open to top young athletes from across Scotland.

The new schools would be modelled on the existing sports academy, Bellahouston Academy, where talented youngsters from across the country attend regular classes and get specialist coaching.

The council also wants to employ a new army of sports coaches to build up grass-roots sporting participation.

If implemented, the city claims that an extra 40,000 people in the city would meet recommended physical activity levels.

Their paper will be submitted direct to Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy.

Last week, we revealed that Murphy was now actively supporting the call for a Lottery fund for the Games, and is to meet Lottery Minister Andy Burnham for talks.

Sources have indicated that Lottery officials remain reluctant to offer funding for Glasgow, pointing out that the Commonwealth bid team did not ask for Lottery cash when they first bid for the Games.

However, after the entire Scottish Parliament backed the plans in September, there are growing hopes that a bid for extra Lottery cash with be successful.

The bid for more funds is being made specifically because of Glasgow's poor health record. The city currently has a mortality rate almost a quarter higher than the rest of Scotland, and has the highest rates of heart disease in Europe.

The plan is to use the games as a catalyst to bring about a cultural change in the city's health record.

The City Council document states: "Glasgow wants to harness this opportunity and deliver the cultural change required to achieve a long-term sustainable increase in sports participation". It also says that the city "aims to improve long-term elite performance pathways for key target sports".

Glasgow is pointing to the evidence from Manchester, which staged the Games in 2002, and where Lottery funding successfully redeveloped one of the city's most deprived areas.

Calls for such a fund were originally raised by the Scottish Government and Glasgow city chiefs back in February. The moves have since been backed by SportScotland, the country's leading sporting body, and all the main political parties.

The Big Lottery Fund has identified a series of projects helping disadvantaged young people that would benefit from the 150m in funding that the SNP claims Scotland has been denied by the London Olympic Games bid.

The SNP has calculated that the impact of the Olympic diversion in Scotland will cost the Big Lottery Fund around 73m over three years.

That total is increased to 150m when money diverted from the Heritage Lottery Fund, SportScotland, the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen and dedicated Olympic Lottery Games is included.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "The Games give us a huge opportunity accelerate sporting and voluntary activity in Glasgow. We want to harness those opportunities to deliver a cultural change in the city. What the evaluation from the Manchester Games in 2002 showed us was that you need to put that investment in early to get the maximum benefits, which is why we want to get investment in as soon as possible."