London 2012: East Midlands sports clubs awarded £1.6m for Olympic legacy

Community sports groups in the East Midlands are set to benefit from more than £1.6m of Olympic legacy funding.

The money, which is being split between 34 groups, aims to "breathe new life into tired facilities", according to Sport England.

Nottingham Wildcats Arena is being given £50,000 for a dance and movement studio, and the Chesterfield Lawn Tennis Club will improve its clubhouse.

The £1,645,759 for the East Midlands is part of the Places People Play fund.

Sport England's chairman Richard Lewis said: "For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, 2012 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.

"We've had unprecedented demand for this fund, which has really hit the mark with sports clubs in the East Midlands. It shows we're offering the sporting legacy that people want."

He added that grants had also been offered to convert existing buildings into venues that "were suitable for grassroots sport and to allow local clubs to buy the facilities they used".

Chris Leslie, MP for Nottingham East, who has backed the Wildcats' proposal, said: "The team at Wildcats were looking to convert a storage area at the back of the building into a top class dance studio to encourage wider participation in health and fitness - and they were successful in their bid.

"I gather that they are hoping to get building works completed by mid spring. It will be great to see the new facility in action."