Parks get £4.5m in health hubs plan
They used to be places where families would take a gentle stroll on a Sunday afternoon. Children would go there to feed the ducks, play on the swings and enjoy an ice-cream.
They used to be places where families would take a gentle stroll on a Sunday afternoon. Children would go there to feed the ducks, play on the swings and enjoy an ice-cream.
But now some parks in Dudley could be transformed into so called 'health hubs' featuring gym equipment and staff to chivvy people into exercise. Five public parks in the borough have been earmarked as outdoor fitness centres after Dudley was awarded £4.5 million government funding to tackle obesity.
Silver Jubilee Park in Coseley and Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge are among those which could be transformed into health havens featuring outdoor gym equipment and dedicated on-site staff. But some are sceptical about the plans with one councillor saying they sit uneasily alongside the closure of leisure facilities like Brierley Hill baths.
Labour councillor John Martin, who represents Netherton where a park has been identified as a potential hub, said: "This is external Government funding being invested in the area so from that aspect, it is a positive thing.
"But the plans do sit rather incongruously alongside the recent closure of other leisure facilities like Cradley High School and Brierley Hill."
Dudley is one of only nine towns and cities nationally to be chosen to take part in the Healthy Town programme that aims to prevent childhood obesity.
The funding given to Dudley – which will be paid over three years – is being used to deliver a project called Let's Go Outside
If given the go-ahead, hubs would also be created at The Dell and Fens Pool in Brierley Hill and Huntingtree Park in Halesowen.
Each hub will be given a dedicated healthy town building, activities, events, walking routes, cycle routes, signage, an outdoor gym, and public toilets.
Councillor Karen Shakespeare said: "I am hoping it will be really good – there is going to be a hub in each committee's area.
"We have got £4.5 million to deliver the project and there are certain criteria for what we can do and how we can use it."
The health hubs are expected to be discussed in more detail on Friday and a final decision made then.
