Transforming Telford

Young people from south Telford are being offered the chance to take part in free karate sessions during this year’s summer holidays to encourage them to get fit and active.
The new initiative, on offer to young people aged 12 to 18 from Woodside, Madeley and Sutton Hill, has been funded by grants from Telford & Wrekin Council and Madeley Parish Council in conjunction with the Tweedale based Lee Matthews Black Belt Academy.

The sessions were the idea of local Police Community Support Officer Richard Carrington and are being organised by the Woodside Neighbourhood Management team and the academy. Up to 50 young people will get the chance to take part in four free one hour sessions of karate during July and August.

Twenty five young people can apply to take part in sessions at the Academy on July 21, 23, 28 and 30 and a further 25 can attend sessions on August 18, 20, 27 and September 1. Anyone joining the Academy as a result of the taster sessions will get their kit and a DVD for free, worth a total of up to £100.

Woodside Neighbourhood Manager Phil Heywood said the scheme was an important part of the overall regeneration of the south Telford area, including Woodside.

“We are working hard to improve the physical environment by improving shared community areas but we know that to create a healthy and sustainable community we need to encourage people to get fit and active.

“These karate sessions will give young people structured exercise and a taste of a skill they could learn for life. If an area like Woodside is going to prosper and improve we have to help the people there, including young people, improve their own health and lifestyle which is why this project is a good idea,” he added.

Lee Matthews said: "Having grown up in the south Telford area I was very keen to help with this project. Martial arts training is not only a great way to keep fit but also a fun way of making friends with likeminded people and increasing your confidences in general."

CSO Richard Carrington said: "Having known a couple of the instructors at Lee Matthews Blackbelt Academy from school and having attended training at the Blackbelt Academy myself, I feel that this project is potentially a great way of teaching young people self discipline.  
 
"I also feel that the school summer holidays is an ideal time to hold these sessions as young people often complain to me that they have very little to do during this time and that they get easily bored. These sessions will hopefully give them something to focus their minds and their time on."

Forms to register for the sessions will be available from the Park Lane Centre in Woodside, the Sutton Hill Community Centre and Madeley Court Sports Centre. For more information visit the Woodside Project Office at the Park Lane Centre or contact (01952) 588886.


ENDS

Notes to editors:

•    For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Phil Heywood, Woodside Neighbourhood Manager, on 01952 217468

•    The 10-year Woodside regeneration project aims to breathe new life into the physical and social environment of the south Telford area. It is being delivered by a partnership of agencies, led by Transforming Telford for Telford & Wrekin Council. It includes national regeneration agency English Partnerships, The Wrekin Housing Trust, Advantage West Midlands, Government Office of the West Midlands and The Housing Corporation.