Have Your Say on Sport and Physical Activity in South Kesteven

Are you a fitness fanatic and always in the gym, or do you wish you led a more active life?

Whatever your lifestyle, InvestSK wants to hear from you. People living in South Kesteven are being invited to a series of events next month which aim to build and improve sport and exercise services in the area.

The consultation will feed into the new Cultural Strategy for South Kesteven: helping connect local people, community groups, sports clubs and physical activity providers. It will also look to gain insight into the challenges faced by those living within rural communities.

Physical activity consultations, as well as 15-minute drop-in sessions, will be held in Stamford, Market Deeping, Grantham, Bourne and surrounding villages.

This series of events builds on the popular and engaging Cultural Conversations already held across the district, and will add to the information already collected, but with a specific focus on sport and physical activity.

Dominic Fieldhouse, Sports Development Officer at InvestSK, will host both the consultation evenings and the drop-in sessions, to gain valuable insight into sports and activity provision and facilities in South Kesteven, and what more can be done.

Dominic said: “This is an exciting opportunity to connect the community with activity providers; sharing the barriers faced, and ultimately contributing to encouraging and enabling people to lead a more active lifestyle.

“We are looking at all the generations, from primary and secondary schools to the older generations, and we really aim to bring communities together.

“We are trying to reach those who are inactive as well as those who are active but want to do more. We need to assess people’s interests and their motivations so that all partners can work together to help them more effectively.”

Cllr Helen Goral, Cabinet Member for Growth, commented: “Physical activity is important not only for our physical but also for our mental health and wellbeing. We need to understand what barriers people might face that put them off being active, and see how our physical activity strategy can help overcome those barriers.

“We have also set out a bold vision for new or enhanced leisure centres across South Kesteven and we want to make sure these meet the needs and aspirations of our local communities, and that they underpin our drive to increase physical activity and sports participation.”

The drop-in sessions, which must be booked in advance, will be held between 4pm and 7pm on the following dates:

• Wednesday 10th July – Long Bennington Sports Pavilion
• Monday 22nd July – Ancaster Village Hall
• Wednesday 24th July – Colsterworth Village Hall
• Friday 26th July – Billingborough Village Hall

To book a 15-minute session, email Dominic.fieldhouse@investsk.co.uk or call 01476 406374.

The consultation evenings will be held between 7pm and 9pm on the following dates:

• Tuesday 16th July – Borderville Sports Centre, Stamford
• Wednesday 17th July – The Guildhall Ballroom, Grantham
• Thursday 18th July – Corn Exchange, Bourne
• Friday 19th July – Community Centre, Market Deeping

To find out more about these sessions and to register your interest, contact Dominic Fieldhouse at Invest SK on 01476 406374 or 07855 105405, or by email at dominic.fieldhouse@investsk.co.uk.