The Conservative Party has announced that, should it win the next election, it will pump an extra £58m into British sport.

Proposals outlined by the shadow secretary for culture, media and sport, Jeremy Hunt, involve a series of reforms including the redistribution of lottery cash towards sporting projects.

The party will promise to return the National Lottery to its original four pillars of sport, the arts, heritage and charities, diverting £156.2m handed out by the Big Lottery Fund to projects in areas of government responsibility. Of that, a potential extra £46.9m will be earmarked for elite and grassroots sport.

A further £11.35m a year will be sourced from £45.4m generated by a new tax regime for the Lottery operator, Camelot.

The Conservatives' proposals would also maintain the current split between UK Sport and Sport England, resulting in an extra £36m a year for grassroots sport and £13.22m a year for elite athletes. The remainder would be split between Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish sporting bodies in accordance with the current funding setup.

Hunt said: "The results in Beijing have decisively lifted the curse of dashed expectation that so often hangs over British sport. Now we need to build on this for the future by getting more young people involved in sport.

"Some will do it because they want to be the next Christine Ohuruogu, others just because it is healthy and fun."

Under the Conservative plans, sport would receive a 28% funding boost on current levels, with the National Lottery distributing £209m to sporting projects in 2006/7.

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The Conservative Party has announced that, should it win the next election, it will pump an extra £58m into British sport. Proposals outlined by the shadow secretary for culture, media and sport, Jeremy Hunt, involve a series of reforms.

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