Type=image;ImageID=6140;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Claregate Playing Fields new outdoor gym;TitleClass=strong;
Claregate was one of 6 parks and green spaces in Wolverhampton which received a legal covenant thanks to the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge.
Operated by Fields in Trust to create a permanent legacy of both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 London Olympics, the challenge sought to protect and safeguard parks and green spaces areas through legal means, ensuring they remain in recreational use forever.
Wolverhampton City Council was then invited to bid for a share of a £750,000 national funding pot set up by the SITA Trust to support improvements to Queen Elizabeth II Fields, and received £16,827 for a new outdoor gym at Claregate Playing Fields. The council has also contributed around £2,000 towards the facilities.
The gym, which is the 25th installed at parks and green spaces around Wolverhampton, offers 8 pieces of equipment including a double air walker, arm and pedal bike, seated leg press, double rower, combination chest press, double cross country skier, leg lift and side surfer.
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, said: "We now have 25 of these excellent outdoor gyms at various locations around the city. They are very well used and I am sure the new one will prove equally popular with visitors to Claregate Playing Fields.
"We have a major problem with obesity in Wolverhampton and offering residents as many leisure opportunities as possible, including free to use facilities such as these outdoor gyms, is an important tool in our fight to improve the health of local people."
People using the outdoor gym at Claregate - or one of the other 2 dozen located around the city - to lose weight are encouraged to put their efforts towards Wolverhampton's Shed a Million Pounds challenge.
Every pound in weight that people lose can be added to an online totaliser at Type=articles;Articleid=5683;Title=Tackling obesity in Wolverhampton;, with the aim of Wolverhampton collectively shedding 1,000,000lbs. Launched earlier this month, the city has already shed 800lbs.
- released: Friday 30 January, 2015