Health and wellbeing in West Suffolk given a boost with UKSPF funds

The health and wellbeing of residents across West Suffolk is being given a boost thanks to funding awarded by West Suffolk Council.

Projects to encourage sports participation and to get residents active in the creative arts are among the initiatives that have received funding from the council.

In Newmarket, a Sports and Clubs Fair is set to be held for the first time in a decade.

The fair, which will take place at Newmarket Leisure Centre on May 19, from 9.30am to 4.30pm, is aimed at young people aged from seven to 14-years-old from Newmarket and surrounding villages. It was last held in 2012 and Ian Jackson from the Forest Heath Primary Schools’ Sports Association said the aim is to encourage greater participation and activity in sports which has fallen during the pandemic. That in turn will benefit the physical and mental health of young people.

“The event will bring together schools, sports clubs, activity providers and uniformed groups based in Newmarket and the surrounding villages,” said Mr Jackson.

“The intention is to demonstrate what is out there for young people and their families and we are hoping that the result will be flourishing clubs and organisations filled with not just participants but officials, administrators and other volunteers.”

West Suffolk Council has awarded £2,000 from the money it was allocated from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) towards the event.

A Fit Villages project by Active Suffolk has also been backed by the council. It has been awarded £12,702 of UKSPF money.

The programme aims to bring people in rural locations together to socialise and become more active. The money will be used to extend the delivery of the scheme, establishing new sessions to help even more people.

Laura Spooner, senior development officer (Health and Wellbeing) at Active Suffolk, said: “Working with West Suffolk Council on such a project meets our collective goal of enabling and facilitating more opportunities for more people to become more active, more often. We want everyone to understand the physical and mental health benefits that can be achieved through regular physical activity and sport and ensure that there is an equal opportunity for all regardless of their location or needs.”

The Fit Villages project is currently open for applications and so if you would like to register an interest in having a Fit Village in your area visit Active Suffolk’s website  or if you have any questions please contact fitvillages@activesuffolk.org

Outside of sport, West Suffolk Council also awarded £14,702 of its UKSPF allocation to the Theatre Royal, in Bury St Edmunds, for two outreach programmes.

The first is an educational youth theatre programme targeting young people aged from eight to 22, while the second, the Act Your Age programme, is aimed at people aged over 55 to encourage greater social networks, increased independence and activity, again benefitting the health and wellbeing of participants.

Robert Everitt, West Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for Families and Communities, said: “Encouraging participation, whether through sports activity or through creative arts, can bring huge benefits to people’s health and wellbeing, their social connections and their sense of belonging as well as keeping active, so we are delighted to be able to use some of the money that we have received from UKSPF, to invest in and support this important work.”

And Jo Rayner, cabinet member for Leisure and Culture at West Suffolk Council, added: “We have a strong mix of leisure and culture partners across West Suffolk and so I am delighted that we are able to support their work using UKSPF funds to help bring real benefits to the lives of residents of all ages, across West Suffolk.”

West Suffolk Council has also allocated £10,000 of UKSPF money to Community Action Suffolk. The money is to be used to support communities in feasibility studies with a view to increasing the availability of facilities in West Suffolk.

The Newmarket Sports and Clubs Fair, Active Suffolk’s Fit Villages Project, the Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre and Act Your Age programme and the Community Action Suffolk’s project, have been supported with a total of £39,404 of UKSPF funding.

In total, West Suffolk Council has been allocated £1,943,467 over three years through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).