Winners of Everybody Active Craven Arms announced
Organisations across Craven Arms have been awarded funding to help combat physical inactivity and ill health, following a public vote in the town.
The winners were selected after thousands of votes were cast by the residents between September and October 2016 as part of the Everybody Active Craven Arms campaign. Craven Arms residents were invited to vote for their top three projects at Tuffins Supermarket to help increase participation in physical activity of local people, in particularly those less active.
Up to £30,000 was awarded based on the projects chosen by residents as part of Shropshire’s Everybody Active Towns community fund project to help motivate people to get involved in helping everyone in their locality become more physically activity. To win this funding people needed to get out and vote.
The campaign invited residents, community groups and organisations in Craven Arms to submit their projects to help increase participation in physical activity in the town.
13 great ideas, projects and initiatives were originally received. 10 finalists then went head to head to win enough votes to receive a share of the funding pot.
Just under £30,000 will be shared among the winning projects. The top seven of the 10 finalists with the most public votes will now receive funding to help launch their projects.
The winners were:
- Stokesay Primary School – who received funding of £3,500 for their Outdoor Learning Project which will provide Forest Schools leader training for staff as well as playground football goals, play-ground games marking and sports equipment for all to use.
- Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre – Who will receive £5,000 for their ‘Onny Meadows Easy Access Trail’ which will provide a new permanent easy access trail connecting the meadows to the river at Kingfisher Corner.
The centre also received £4,950 for their ‘Wild Play for All Project’ to create a new wild play area for children (and adults!) in woodlands at the Onny meadows.
- South Shropshire Gymnastics Club – who received £4,218 for their ‘Increase Participation, Decrease Waiting! Project’ to purchase equipment to increase places available and decrease numbers on the waiting list for children’s class places, plus new adult classes.
- MumME fitness – Future Family Fitness (with Stokesay Primary School and Children’s Centre) who received £4,225 for their Bump Fitness, Buggy Fitness, session which will provide qualified instructors for during pregnancy, buggy fitness sessions and outdoor fitness classes for parents only.
- Craven Arms Town Council – awarded £5,000 for their outdoor gym equipment for Craven Arms project which will provide outdoor gym equipment and associated initial fitness sessions.
- South Shropshire Youth Forum – will receive £3,087 for their ‘Giving youth an active chance project which will provide activity days for those aged 12—18 years to developed confidence, knowledge and outdoor learning through activities.
Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, and Chair of Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board added:
“I am absolutely delighted that Craven Arms residents have come out and voted for their favourite projects. A total of 391 votes were received, and we would like to congratulate the winners who’ve come forward with some great ideas to help local residents more active.
“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.
“The Everybody Active Towns project is a fantastic initiative that gives local communities the opportunity to work together and come up with sustainable ways to tackle physical inactivity in their community.”
David Evans and Lee Chapman, local Shropshire Councillors for Craven Arms and Church Stretton, said:
“We are delighted with the broad range of projects that will be taking place in Craven Arms over the next 12 months. We would like to thank everyone involved for making the initiative a success, from the applicant organisations, the local working group and those people who voted. We look forward to seeing the projects in action.”
Further information about Everybody Active Craven Arms projects can be found here.
For more information about Shropshire’s Everybody Active Towns project visit http://www.healthyshropshire.co.uk/topics/physical-activity/everybody-active-towns-project/.
Further information
Everybody Active Craven Arms is part of Shropshire’s Everybody Active Towns community fund project currently being piloted in in four areas across Shropshire. Other towns include Broseley, Whitchurch and Wem.
The community fund project was 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.
The projects can be targeted to any or all ages across the life course, from early years to later life. Proposed projects will compete for funding through a public vote in their town.
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.
Voting was open to people 11 years old and over who live, work or are currently being educated in Craven Arms.
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.
Photos
Dens in the woods, at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre
Kingfisher corner, at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre
The area to be improved at the Onny Meadows with the riverside path (Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre).
Buggy Fitness – Future Family Fitness, Craven Arms
Nina Walmsley from Future Family Fitness.
