FAILED bids for National Lottery cash to improve sports facilities have prompted a council leader to warn of further disappointment in the future.

John Blackie, leader of Richmondshire District Council, will tell colleagues today they should not expect further applications for cash to be looked on favourably.

The comments come after Sport England, the organisation responsible for handing out Lottery money, rejected several requests for help to build sports halls at Richmond School, Wensleydale School, and a contribution to the £12m sports centre at Catterick Garrison.

In a report for Richmondshire area committee, which meets at Barton Village Hall today, Mr Blackie claims Lottery cash is being handed out in a "numbers game" where sparsely populated rural areas lose out to urban towns and cities.

He said: "By far the most heartbreaking refusal was when the communities had their hopes wrecked by the refusal of the Lottery organisation to support the swimming pool in Hawes, despite a robust business plan that showed it would be run at a profit and that all that was needed was a one-off contribution to the capital to construct it.

"We must expect this in the dales in the future, although I guess they did not dare say no to the excellent multi-use games area development at Yorebridge, Askrigg.

"Realistically, for the time being though, it is exactly the same message for strategic and the smaller key projects in the remainder of Richmondshire - no go."

A spokesman for Sport England said falls in Lottery ticket sales meant there was now less money to go round.

"This means it is a much more competitive scenario," he said.

"It's not a numbers game - we are not just going to the biggest areas (of population) to give funding.

"We are waiting for applications to come in that meet the right criteria.

"People must show that they are going to make a difference to sport and physical activity in their area, in particular to people who aren't already physically active.

"Richmondshire has always made strong cases for funding in the past - there's nothing to say people in the district are being disadvantaged."