Funding available for local communities in Craven Arms who show commitment to improve physical activity in the town
Residents, community groups and organisations in Craven Arms are being invited to be part of a new initiative to address physical inactivity in the town.
The call out is part of Shropshire’s Everybody Active Every Day community fund project, a new community-based scheme which is being piloted in four areas across Shropshire.
The project has been set up by Shropshire Council’s public health team to help motivate communities to come up with ideas and sustainable projects to improve physical activity within their locality.
Physical inactivity can pose serious health risks to the individual and is now one of the key health issues in the UK, responsible for one in six deaths and costing the country an estimated £7.4 billion a year. Those who aren’t active enough risk developing a series of conditions – depression, dementia, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer and more.
An Everybody Active Craven Arms working group has been set up and the scheme was launched through town drop-in events in the town for people to come along and give ideas and find out more. These are Wednesday 20 April 2016 at 5.30pm – 7pm at the Community Centre, and Wednesday 27 April – 5pm at the Discovery Centre.
The group are engaging and working with the local community to come up with ideas for projects. Groups and organisations in Craven Arms will be invited to submit their projects to encourage physical activity, in particular amongst the less active communities. The projects can be targeted to any or all ages across the life course, from early years to later life. Those successful projects will then go out to a public vote in the town.
David Evans, a Shropshire Councillor for Church Stretton and Craven Arms, said:
“This is an exciting opportunity for us in Craven Arms, physical activity is important to us all. Please give us your ideas and get involved.”
Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, and Chair of Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board, added:
“It is well documented that lack of physical activity is now a national epidemic and poses serious health risks to our local communities. Without action, the burden on health and social care will destabilise services and reduce the quality of life for individuals, their families and communities.
“As part of our ‘Year of Physical Activity’, Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board key objective is to raise the profile and benefits of physical activity across all sectors and communities. As a result of this Shropshire Council’s public health has allocated one-off funding for physical activity as part of an innovative approach in addressing physical inactivity at a local community level.
“The Everybody Active Every Day community fund project is a great opportunity to engage and motivate residents to help take responsibility and ownership of their health and wellbeing. I really do encourage local communities in Craven Arms to take on board this initiative and get involved.”
Craven Arms is one of four towns initially offered to take part in the project, based on evidence of need. Other towns identified include Broseley, Wem and Whitchurch.
The maximum amount available to each of the four communities is £30,000, but will be adjusted according to community response and to ensure a genuine competition can take place. The response to this competitive process will indicate the level of successful community engagement.
Anyone interested in joining the working group can contact Lisa Bedford, community enablement officer on 07990 085656 or email lisa.bedford@shropshire.gov.uk.
You can also find out more about the project at http://www.healthyshropshire.co.uk/topics/physical-activity/everybody-active-towns-project/.
Further information
One of Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board ‘Year of Physical Activity’ objectives is to raise the profile and benefits of physical activity across all sectors and communities.
To support this, Shropshire Council’s public health has allocated one-off funding for physical activity as part of an innovative approach in addressing physical inactivity at a local community level.
This approach also supports the national Everybody Active, Every Day initiative, a national framework for national and local action to address the physical inactivity epidemic in the UK, which is responsible for one in six deaths and costs the country an estimated £7.4 billion a year.
The public health fund will be used as part of a piloted community-based initiative, supported by the Everybody Active Every Day (EAED) Community Project Team.
