The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Trail was six years of hard work
Rotarians were keen to be among the first to test out new equipment on the fitness “trim trail” opened at Jubilee Park, Deeping St James. Installation of the state of the art equipment was the culmination of a project conceived six years ago when the Friends of Jubilee Park group was established. A fundraising campaign began which received considerable support from within the community.
Leading the initiative, the Friends held a number of fundraising events, including the Deeping Dog Show. Success was assured with support from a variety of sources, including the Parish Council, District Council, district councillors Judy Stevens and Phil Dilks,Tesco, Deepings Lions, Deeping St James United Charities and the National Citizen Service.
At the forefront was Deepings Rotary Club, happy to commit £500 from club funds towards the project.
Members recognised that the trim trail would be a valuable facility for the community, offering health and fitness opportunities for all ages and abilities. A successful application for a grant from the Rotary Foundation (Rotary’s own charity) resulted in funds being contributed by the club being matched by Foundation. This made a total donation from Rotary of £1,000 - more than covering the cost of one piece of equipment.
Eight pieces of modern, sturdy fitness equipment have been installed at Jubilee Park at a cost of £10,500. These are dotted around the site to create a fitness trail, which it is hoped will be well used by local people.
It looks set to be a popular feature of the park.
Deepings Rotarians were among the first to try out the new equipment. These included President Jenny Spratt and Mary Martin, who are currently in training to run the Rotary 3k event in May.
Members visited the site last week and gave the new facility a big “thumbs up”.
Rotarian John Lavery said: “As keen supporters of this project from the start we are delighted to see it come to fruition. It is wonderful to see this excellent equipment already generating a lot of interest and positive feedback.”
Carole Bremner, treasurer of The Friends of Jubilee Park, said: “I’m very happy that the trail has been so well received.”
The Friends are considering constructing a track around the park to improve access to the equipment, especially for those with disabilities.