SCHOOLS in Ryedale are being urged to put forward ideas to boost sporting facilities and cash in on a £3.4m handout.

Chris McGee, head of the county council's continuing education unit said North Yorkshire had been granted a provisional allocation of £3,421,000 through the New Opportunities for PE and Sport Programme with the aim of providing better sporting facilities for young people and the community as a whole.

"The allocation is based on the size of the school, age population and levels of deprivation in the area," he said.

Children aged between five and 16 will be the main beneficiaries of the programme but there must also be a wider community benefit.

"We welcome this additional funding in North Yorkshire. We have set up an internal group to begin the process of preparing an application before the deadline of April 22," said Mr McGee.

He added: "We are asking schools to come forward with ideas which could benefit from the funding and we hope to have decisions by September."

Representatives from Ryedale schools are involved with North Yorkshire Sport on the programme.

David Roberts, head of Malton School, said the school's long-term aim was to build a sports hall which would serve the community as well as students.

The new fund offered opportunities from which the school could benefit.

"We will be looking at it with interest," he said. The governors are meeting next month to discuss the possibility of making an application to secure funding from the scheme.

Funds can be used to modernise existing, and build new indoor and outdoor sports facilities for school and community use or to provide initial financial help to support the development and promotion of community sport facilities, and to fund adventure facilities.

John Greenway, MP for Ryedale and the shadow minister for sport and tourism, said: "I have been following this issue closely. In the past, plans to establish much-needed new sports facilities at both Malton School and Filey School had to be postponed because of a lack of available funding, both in terms of matched resources and the reduced funds available to the Sport England Lottery Fund."

Updated: 10:01 Thursday, February 14, 2002