Manx Lottery Trust delivers funding to charity sports hall to enhance its accessible facilities
The Tommy Clucas Community Sports Hall on the Isle of Man will be enhancing its accessible facilities thanks to funding from the Manx Lottery Trust.
The venue, located at Peel Football Club, Isle of Man, has been awarded £33,000 from the Manx Lottery Trust to fund the accessibility phase of an ongoing redevelopment project, which will significantly enhance the venue’s facilities.
With the support of the grant, the new community rooms which are being developed will include the installation of a new, more accessible staircase, a passenger lift with wheelchair and pram access, and a first-floor disabled toilet.
Stephen Turner, Chairman of Manx Lottery Trust, said: “We are delighted to support the Tommy Clucas Community Sports Hall, a local space that continues to inspire community engagement and general wellbeing through sport.
“The improvements the charity is looking to make to the venue’s facilities will only serve to enhance their outstanding offering and we wish them every success with their new venture.”
The grant has been awarded from from Manx Lottery Trust’s Community Awards Programme. Manx Lottery Trust has been delegated to distribute National Lottery money from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Neil Cain, Treasurer for the Tommy Clucas Memorial Fund, commented: “The charity is incredibly grateful to the Manx Lottery Trust for their support, which will enable us to drastically improve the accessibility of our redeveloped facilities.
“It is aimed that the new community rooms, together with the sports hall, will act as a hub for the whole community and it is vital that we can cater for individuals of all abilities.
“The redevelopment project aims to create an enhanced educational, wellbeing and sporting space for all ages, where people can come together, form friendships, collaborate and learn new skills, while developing or maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle.
“It is hoped that the new facility will also act as a catalyst for local sports clubs, organisations, and the wider community to come together to generate and develop ideas for further development of community facilities.
“We can’t wait to see what community activities the new facilities create – if they make even half the impact which the sports hall has made, we will be ‘over the moon’!”
The sports hall was built in 2013 with monies raised by The Tommy Clucas Memorial Fund, an Isle of Man registered charity set up in memory of local sporting hero Tom Clucas.
The venue looks to promote community participation in healthy recreation and provides an indoor 3G Astro-turf facility for a wide range of the community, including local sports clubs, schools and other community organisations and groups.
Since opening, the sports hall has facilitated a variety of activities including bowls, golf, tennis, football, rugby, hockey, athletics, netball, cricket and even model aircraft flying, as well as kids’ parties and sports coaching courses.
