Mildenhall receives the Most Active Town award

Mildenhall has been awarded the Most Active Town in the Suffolk Community Awards in recognition of the great strides that have been made to increase physical activity levels.

Mildenhall has all the sporting clubs  expected in a market town and more, and the award recognises the work that is being done collectively to encourage young and old to be active and to stay active.

Mayor of Mildenhall, Ian Shipp, attended the ceremony with deputy mayor Russell Leaman to collect the award on behalf of the town.

Councillor Shipp is also West Suffolk Council’s Cabinet member for Leisure and he said: “The award is in recognition of Mildenhall’s increasing participation in physical activity and it highlighted events such as our fabulous Park Run and the inspiring Junior Park run, our new skate park and play areas along with the increase in activity at The Hub.

“I would like to thank all of those involved in working so hard to help deliver activities and facilities in Mildenhall and I recognise all of the hard work put in by so many volunteers in our community providing opportunities for all in local clubs and association.

“The award also recognised Mildenhall’s commitment to increasing opportunities for participation in physical activity and I was proud to announce the start of work on our soon to be delivered ‘Pump Track’ which will be available free for all in the near future and this weekend sees the first league match for Mildenhall Jets Under 13 Basketball team.”

The Mildenhall Hub is one of the facilities brought to the town by West Suffolk Council and its partner.

Opened in June 2021 the Hub has set the standard for supporting the health, wellbeing and education of local residents. From a physical activity perspective, it includes a new gym, fitness studios, 3G pitch, swimming pools and sports hall with classes and activity for everyone and every ability. It’s also home to the Mildenhall park run allowing participants to walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. Over 2,000 people have already taken part in the weekly event. In 2022 a junior parkrun was also established in the town offering a dedicated event for four to 14-year-olds.

Also in 2022, the council opened a brand new skatepark at St John’s Recreation Ground and is set to open a new pump track in December this year.