Campaign could turn our streets into a giant gym

Health chiefs say the borough could be transformed into a giant playground as part of a new scheme to get people active.

Ashford’s Health and Wellbeing Board have received two presentations from the Beat the Street campaign, which aims to boost the number of people exercising.

The campaign is run by private firm Intelligent Health, and would see dozens of battery powered “beat box” tag points put on lampposts.

Players are awarded points for the amount of exercise they do, and could win prizes including sports equipment for their school, club or business.

Board members were shown the presentation by Debbie Walters from the company, who told them it would cost £96,000 to bring the game to the town, or £134,000 to include Tenterden and some of the villages too.

Bids can be made to Sport England for the funds to bring the game to each location, and it lasts for several weeks.

Intelligent Health estimates that the scheme boosts the number of people exercising by about 12%, while there is also a similar percentage increase in the number of people walking or cycling to work.

In Ashford, the number of adults who are either overweight or obese is 66%, and the number of Year 6 children who are obese is 19%. It is estimated that 80% of children are not doing enough exercise.

Intelligent Health press spokesman Niall Horbury said: “The scheme runs for a period of about seven weeks, and turns the whole area into a giant game.

“We put beating and flashing sensors into lampposts around the town, while children and adults use cards to collect points for their school, business or team.

“The idea is to get people to change to a more active lifestyle and to encourage people to change their behaviour.”

He said thousands have already taken part in similar schemes set up around the country, most recently in Dumfries in Scotland, where the number of people doing no exercise each week fell from 8% to 2%.

Board members are now waiting to find out if their bid to Sport England has been successful.

What do you think? Write to Kentish Express, Unit 4, Park Mall Shopping Centre Ashford, TN24 8RY or email kentishexpress@ thekmgroup.co.uk

The Beat the Street campaign could be coming to Ashford