A new project giving residents in West Somerset and Sedgemoor the opportunity to get active in their local parks/spaces has been launched.
The SASP Active Spaces project is a project funded for 3 years via the Community Impact Mitigation Fund (CIM) from the Hinkley C nuclear reactor build in Somerset. SASP created the bid and were successful in their application to the CIM fund.
The project is designed to offer residents in West Somerset and Sedgemoor the opportunity to get active in their local parks/spaces, socialise with others and enjoy the mental and physical benefits of physical activity. It is hoped this will offset some of the disruption communities in the local areas will face from the Hinkley Reactor build, such as amount of lorry traffic, influx of workers living in the area. It is also designed to offer the workers activities to take part in and also integrate them into the local communities through exercise.
The Active Spaces project is live in 5 parks across West Somerset and Sedgemoor, some of the areas most affected by the Hinkley point build were chosen to begin the project. A range of exercise/activity sessions are on offer in the spaces including Active families, Circuits, Dance fit and Walking football, all delivered by fully qualified instructors. The activities and times have scope to be changed so that SASP can work with the community in each area to get the most appropriate session types and times for them, so the most impact can be made.
Participants sign up through the Active Spaces website www.activespaces.co.uk and are then able to book onto any of the sessions within the project. The first month is completely free and there is a fee of £12 a month after that, this is to solely help with project sustainability.
Instructors post about the sessions and show the public what the project can offer via a dedicated facebook page ActivespacesSASP.
Over the coming months SASP will be looking to expand into new parks/spaces within the West Somerset and Sedgemoor areas and eventually the desire is to take the project county wide.
For more information on the project plesae contact Gareth John, Sports Development Officer- Active Spaces, Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership
Tel: 01823 653990 / 07746768220
Email: gjohn@sasp.co.uk