At the beginning of the year £50,000 was made available to the communities of Telford and Wrekin to fund activities to help ‘Get Telford Active’. Grants were awarded to the community to ensure that projects were led by what was wanted and needed by residents, and 20 projects were funded as a result.
Developed by people in communities for people in communities, the idea was that each event would provide a fun and friendly way for people to develop a love for activity, whether they were out of practice or getting active for the first time.
During the year:
- 120 people signed up to Netball England’s Workplace Netball League
- 300 took part in Telford Hornet’s Touch Rugby sessions
- 250 took part in Dawley Council Holiday Activities
- 350 people went to Allscott Heath Sports Club’s open day
- 220 took part in the Wellington Wellbeing Picnic
- 400 people took part in 5K borough runs
- 130 took part in Wrekin Riders Novice sessions
As well as putting on events, the campaign also helped to build four all weather running tracks for schools in the borough. These were at:
- Lawley Primary School,
- Wrockwardine Wood C.E. Junior School,
- Lightmoor Village Primary School
- Grange Park Primary School
Get Telford Walking Event
Starting from GP surgeries across Telford and Wrekin a range of walks including short circular walks of 1-2 miles and longer walks from each surgery that joined sections of the 50-mile trail
Telford Hornets
Telford Hornets provided Touch Rugby sessions in a friendly environment for people of all abilities. Over 300 people took part.
Wrekin Riders
BMX bike-riding novice sessions were provided by the Wrekin Riders for people of all ages and abilities.
Telford Athletic Club
Telford Athletic Club hosted a series of 5K runs in Madeley, Oakengates, Newport and Wellington that anyone could take part in. Over 400 people took part across the races and ranged from seasoned runners to complete beginners.
Shropshire Cricket Board
Shropshire Cricket Board provided free taster sessions for boys and girls between 5 and 8 years old in parks and playing fields across the borough. Alongside this they also ran women’s softball festivals so mums could also get active at the same time in a fun and friendly environment.
Health and Wellbeing Roadshow
Kickstart ran a summer roadshow through village halls across the rural areas of the borough. They showcased ideas for physical activity for a range of age groups, including fitness and rhythm for the over 55s, ‘kid’s kombat’ for the children and a whole range of other activities.
England Netball
Over 120 residents signed up to play in Telford’s netball workplace league over the summer, many of which had never played before or in a long time. Workplaces from around the borough submitted teams, from schools to veterinary practices.
Great Dawley Town Council
Over the school holidays Great Dawley Town Council offered a wide range of free activities for people to try, including tennis, cricket, crown green bowls, an outdoor gym, guided walks, and gentle chair exercises.
The Hartshill Runners
Hartshill Runners ran a 12-week course aimed at beginners to take them from their couches to a 10K run. They then organised a new and exciting 10K race around the outskirts of Oakengates in October 2019.
Schools Half Marathon
Over 450 children took part in the Telford and Wrekin Schools Half Marathon, part of Schools Running Movement by UK Run Events. This saw pupils run and complete 12 miles over the span of a few weeks at school and then brought all the children together at Oakengates Athletics Track to run the final 1.1 mile. The funding ensured places for children to take part who would otherwise not have had the chance to join in.
Sutton Hill Community Centre
There were family friendly activities throughout the summer at Hub on The Hill, the Sutton Hill Community Centre. All the sporting activities were provided by Streetkings, and arts and crafts activities also took place in the church.
Recovery Football Festival
A six-a-side football festival was held to raise awareness around recovery from substance misuse and mental health. It was held in the memory of Carl Dowd Mckenzie, who passed away prior to the event and was a well-respected member of the recovery fraternity.
Arthog Outreach
Arthog Outreach at the Shortwood Centre in Wellington opened for one special day so that visitors could have a go at some of the activities being offered right on their doorstep including climbing, bushcraft and orienteering.
School Daily Mile Tracks
The Daily Mile is a free initiative that sees children run or jog at their own pace each day for 15 minutes. Often schools find in winter that there is a lack of suitable space for children to take part, so some schools applied for funding to lay down an all-weather track to increase participation in the winter months.
Grange Park:
Local legend and gold medal Paralympian Mickey Bushell cut the ribbon to open Grange Park Schools Daily Mile Track.
Mickey Bushell said:
“This is such a great initiative especially as it’s at a school just like I came from. These sort of grass roots schemes help create healthy habits in people from a young age. Habits are hard to break and if you start from a young age such as this primary school, it helps build a strong foundation for health in later life.”
Lightmoor Village Primary School:
Lightmoor Village Primary School celebrated the opening of their track with a fun run/walk for all ages.
Wrockwardine Wood:
The Mayor of Telford & Wrekin, Councillor Stephen Reynolds, officially opened the new track at Wrockwardine Wood C.E. Junior School before pupils had their chance to run a full lap of the track. Students with mobility issues were struggling to take part in the Daily Mile prior to the track installation. It is hoped now that regular exercise will become more inclusive and accessible to all.
Lawley Primary School:
Also had a track installed partly using the Let’s Get Telford Active grant.
Park Lane Centre:
The Park Lane Centre hosted an activity day with cycling, circus skills, basketball and street sports. They also offered free play equipment for young people to be active throughout the summer.
Before the event, Jacqui Idiens the Park Lane Centre Manager said:
“We hope this funding will help us to provide a service to our community that encourages community cohesion and improves physical, mental and emotional health as well as helping social and economic regeneration.”
The Friends of Bowring Park
The Friends of Bowring Park held a relaxed community picnic where health and wellbeing advice was available along with activities for children and adults including face painting, informal games of rounders, quick cricket, tennis, yoga, Zumba and Tai Chi classes.
Allscott Heath Sports Club
Allscott Heath Sports and Social Club held an open day where people could try our archery, bowls, cricket, football and more and over 200 people came along. Let’s Get Telford Active funding was used to buy new equipment for the event.
Shropshire & Telford United Women’s Association
This was an opportunity to get out and active with other ladies aiming to lose weight. Archery, netball, and rounders were all on offer on the day.
Donnington Partnership CIO
Donnington Partnership CIO hosted Couch to 5K running sessions with the support of trained run leaders over 10 weeks.
Telford Schools Challenge
As part of the Let’s Get Telford Active campaign the Telford Schools Challenge was developed. This aimed to encourage regular activity in schools to help to develop healthy habits at a young age. 11 schools took part in the challenge to see who could be the most active. Each term there was a different challenge, from running the most miles to completing the most Change4Life “10-minute shake-ups”.
St Patrick’s Primary School won the winter term challenge, which was to see who could run the most miles, with a mammoth 49.6 miles.
