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| Official Opening – Cutting the Ribbon with Mayor, Cllr’s Sign, Warrener & Marshall |
On Friday 4 September over 30 residents attended the official opening by the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Dominic Hiscock of the new £12000 fitness area for the over 60’s in Kings Worthy.
The mayor was one of the first to try out the specially designed facilities.
In his opening speech he said:
‘It was a great asset for the people of Kings Worthy and that he was really impressed and delighted by the Parish Council leadership for providing this new facility.”
This outdoor bespoke fitness area is thought to be the first in Hampshire.
It is adjacent to the Tubbs Hall Community Centre, in Fraser Road, alongside the recently refurbished children’s play area.
The designated fenced area is full of equipment designed to work all areas of the body, as well as improve circulation and balance.
 It includes such things as, a Leg Press, Body Twister, Four Wheel Spinner, Surfer and Skier as well as two seats.
The original idea came from a petition to the Parish Council led by two local residents Sandra Perkins and Brenda Peat; following their talks with others at the monthly Friday coffee drop in meetings early in 2008.
After initial discussions a small project group was formed, with Sandra, Brenda, Cllr Rosemary Sign (Chair of R&A committee), Cllr Jim Marshall, Project Co-Ordinator and Parish Clerk.
Following extensive consultations and hard work, the project was completed with funding made available from the Winchester City Council’s ‘Open Spaces Fund’.
Councillor Jim Marshall said:
“We have spent lots of money on children and younger persons play equipment and we thought that we would do the same for older members of our community. We hope it will be a success”.
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| Local residents enjoying the facilities |
There has been considerable interest and already one local resident has said
“that she will be using it twice a week. It’s something you can spend hours on especially if the weather is good, it’s an excellent idea”
Kings Worthy Parish Council hopes that it will be a great way to encourage older people to both exercise and socialise.
Exercising a few times a week can make a big difference to someone’s health and doesn’t have to be strenuous. |
