Northern Ireland

£50,000 Sports Hardship Fund open to applications from clubs in Antrim and Newtownabbey

No rise in leisure prices
No rise in leisure prices No rise in leisure prices

A £50,000 Sports Hardship Fund has been opened to applications from clubs in Antrim and Newtownabbey.

The fund has been made available to sports clubs to meet the additional costs of compliance with Covid-19 requirements.

Applications can be made for a maximum of £1,000 to cover expenditure since April 1.

DUP Councillor Matthew Magill said he welcomed “anything the council can do to help sports clubs survive the Covid situation”.

Ulster Unionist Councillor Robert Foster said there are groups within the borough that have “fallen through the cracks whether it is kickboxing or whatever”.

“A lot of groups have experienced great hardship,” he added.

Meanwhile, members of the Operations Committee have agreed not to increase prices at the council’s leisure facilities during the next financial year.

A report to the committee, which met remotely on Tuesday evening, stated: “As residents and businesses are already experiencing financial pressures, it is proposed not to increase any prices.”

Prices for waste, parks and leisure services for 2021- 2022 will be retained at their current levels.