Barry Park Set To Become Hive Of Physical Activity

Finding a way through Porthkerry Country Park in Barry will be an altogether easier task thanks to a Community Chest grant from the Sports Council for Wales.

In an effort to increase the variety of physical activity opportunities and to attract more people to its pastures, a £750 National Lottery funded grant has allowed the park to expand its range to include a traditional orienteering route in partnership with the South Wales Orienteering Club.

And in an effort to attract the region’s school children, a wildlife exercise route will also be developed in partnership with the Healthy Schools Programme. It is hoped that the project will enhance the school education programme and encourage more children to take part in more physical activity, more often.

The South Wales Orienteering Club is set to produce an orienteering map of the park and the Community Chest funding will be used to produce wildlife posts, signage and leaflets.

Since the inception of the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

Indeed, in its short history, the lottery funded grant aid scheme has distributed just over £327,000 to projects across the Vale of Glamorgan.

As a result of the popularity and undoubted success of the scheme, the Sports Council for Wales is raising the level of grant. Organisations keen to develop sport & physical activity in Wales can now receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

The scope of the scheme has also been widened. Grants have traditionally been awarded to sports clubs and sporting bodies. Now most organisations seeking to develop physical activity and sporting projects will be eligible for an award.

Community Chest has recently been infiltrating additional areas of work such as the voluntary sector (e.g. Voluntary Youth Clubs, Women’s Institute) and the workplace, as well as continuing to support projects in the health and education arenas. So while funding the local football club might get the younger members of the community moving, backing a walking group will encourage more adults to get active.