Funding available for local communities in Whitchurch who show commitment to improve physical activity in the town
Residents, community groups and organisations in Whitchurch 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 Whitchurch working group has been set up and the scheme was launched on Saturday 2 April 2016 in the town. The group are engaging and working with the local community to come up with ideas for projects. Groups and organisations in Whitchurch 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.
Nicki Young, Shropshire Council’s community enablement officer and Everybody Active Whitchurch project lead, said:
“The key objective of our project is to develop a social movement within Whitchurch. This proposed approach will act both as a catalyst to get communities motivated to address physical inactivity and empowering people to take action for themselves.
“This can be achieved through raising awareness of the benefits of physical activity and the need to become more active, encouraging local communities to think about their own physical activity; and enabling them to take ownership and implement changes to improve their own and their community’s physical activity. We want to get people talking and sharing their ideas on getting more people, more active and coming up with project ideas.”
Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet Member for health and well-being, and Chair of Shropshire’s Health and Wellbeing 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 Whitchurch to take on board this initiative and get involved.”
Councillor Mike McDonald, Mayor of Whitchurch, welcomed the news, saying:
“If you’ve got an idea for a project that would encourage more people in Whitchurch to be more active, then let us know. The projects can be targeted at one specific age group or appeal to everyone, from early years to later life. All projects will compete for funding through a public vote, so you will need to be prepared to gather voters.”
Whitchurch 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 Craven Arms.
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 Nicki Young, community enablement officer on 07990 085187 or email nicki.young@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.
