11 August 2011

Following on from our previous post, deadlines have now been announced for the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Fund. The fund supports playing fields that are designated Queen Elizabeth II playing fields. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, operated by Fields in Trust (FIT), is a programme to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities all across the country as a permanent living legacy of the London 2012 Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

There are two strands to the fund, aimed at groups with different needs:

• QEII Fields Volunteer Support Fund - offers a maximum of £5,000 for projects where volunteers will be extensively involved in the delivery of a project. This could include site clearance, planting or fencing to make the field more healthy and sustainable

Deadlines:

10am 22 August 2011
10am 21 October 2011
10am 3 January 2012
10am 20 February 2012
10am 18 June 2012
10am 20 August 2012
10am 19 October 2012

• QEII Major Works Fund - offers a maximum of £25,000 for projects that also focus on some delivery by volunteers, but will allow major works to be carried out by specialist contractors.

Deadlines:

10am 25 July 2011
10am 28 November 2011
10am 19 March 2012
10am 23 July 2012

Fields can become Queen Elizabeth II playing fields in one of two ways:

• By being nominated and voted for on the Queen Elizabeth II Fields challenge website
• Successful applicants to the Sport England Protecting Playing Fields programme who accept a Deed of Dedication of their playing field in perpetuity will have their project details passed to FIT to undertake the registration and branding of the project as Queen Elizabeth II Field.

Contact: SITA Trust
Telephone: 01454 262 910
Email: info@sitatrust.org.uk
Website: http://www.sitatrust.org.uk/qe2-fields

Contact: Helen Griffiths, Director of Communications and the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge
Telephone: 020 7427 2110 / 07946 188 371
Email: helen.griffiths@fieldsintrust.org
Website: http://www.qe2fields.com

Contact: Sport England
Telephone: 08458 508 508
Email: funding@sportengland.org
Website: http://www.sportengland.org/funding/protecting_playing_fields.aspx