Efforts to increase the number of people playing sport in rural communities have been given a boost after Sport England revealed which schemes will receive a share of £10m.

More than 500 applications were received by the funding agency as part of its Rural Communities initiative, which is the first of Sport England's themed rounds aimed at delivering a sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympics. Research conducted by the organisation revealed that two-thirds of English local authorities with the lowest participation rates are in rural areas.

One of the largest grants has been awarded to The SportsHub@Treviglas in Newquay, Cornwall, which has received £1.675m to provide new sports facilities for more than 15,000 people living in rural communities. Nearly £600,000 has been awarded to Devon Active Villages, which aims to get 13,000 people from 156 villages across Devon taking part in a range of various sports, while a similar scheme in Derbyshire, comprising 12,000 people 60 villages and over the next three years, has netted £601,952.

Cycle Suffolk will receive £372,000 to allow more than 2,000 young people to join British Cycling's GO ride programme over the next three years, as well as 2,000 people joining village cycling schemes and 22 enrolling on disabled cycling programmes. Sport England chair Richard Lewis said: "Everyone should have the chance to find the sport they really enjoy. The projects we're investing in today will help us tackle the barriers to participation in rural communities, by delivering sustainable sporting opportunities to thousands of people."