Helping South Cambridgeshire residents get healthy

People in South Cambridgeshire are being encouraged to stay fit and healthy thanks to grants worth more than £22,000 from the District Council.

One grant is aimed at supporting residents with chronic health problems and will be available to groups and organisations who provide physical activity programmes for people with specific health conditions.

The other is for sports centres to restart fitness classes that may have stopped during Covid.

Furthermore, the Council is developing a free,12-week physical activity programme for adults with a BMI of 25 plus, called Exercise4Fun. Once people attend their first class, they also get a 90-day free pass to use at their local leisure centre.

Cllr Bill Handley, the Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “We are pleased to support residents in offering opportunities to get into, or get back to, fitness. Physical activity is good for your body and mind. The NHS recommends people do around 20 minutes a day of physical activity. Whatever your age, there's strong evidence that being physically active can help us lead healthier and happier lives.”

He continued: “These grants are an excellent way of supporting our local leisure centres to provide opportunities for people to get fit and healthy. People who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing many long-term illnesses and it can reduce the risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, by up to 30%.”

Cllr Susan van de Ven, Vice-Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Adults and Health Committee and District Councillor for Bassingbourn, said: “We’re proud to be supporting South Cambridgeshire District Council’s brilliant work to help residents stay fit and healthy.

“The Exercise4Fun programme is a wonderful example of the initiatives that are available to people in South Cambridgeshire. I’m glad that we could arrange for funding from the Public Health ‘Healthy Weight’ grant to go towards this excellent programme. Why not give it a go?  Please consider trying out Exercise4Fun, as well as getting involved in many of the other opportunities to stay fit and healthy.”

The funding pots were approved at the District Council’s Grant Advisory Committee:

• £13,000 of funding from our Leisure budget is aimed at voluntary organisations, specialist groups and/or leisure centres to apply for. Grants of up to £2,000 will be available to run activity sessions specifically for people living with a chronic health condition such as Parkinsons, Diabetes or Dementia. Available to apply from July by following this link.
• A further £9,000 from our Leisure budget is for leisure centre operators in South Cambridgeshire to run new or restart physical activity classes, which may have stopped due to Covid. Grants of up to £1,000 will be available. Available to apply from July by following this link.
• In addition, the Council is arranging a 12-week physical activity programme called Exercise4Fun. This is a free programme for adults aged 18+ with a BMI of more than 25, who are inactive. This has been made possible with funds from the Public Health ‘Healthy Weight’ grant from Cambridgeshire County Council. Referrals are via health professionals or self-referral. The Exercise4Fun programme is designed to help people become active with a range of activities to improve fitness, socialise, learn new skills, and improve overall wellbeing. The programme will consist of group activities like fitness classes, walking sports, team games, healthy eating, and wellbeing walks. Once signed up, and following attendance of their first session, each participant will receive a free 90-day pass to use at their leisure centre. This membership will include access to the gym, fitness classes, swimming, badminton, and other activities delivered by the Centre. Anyone wishing to find out more about this programme ahead of its official launch can email duty.communities@scambs.gov.uk for further information. Once the scheme is formally launched further details will be made available on our website.