30 March 2005
THE Yorkshire and Humber is the first region in England
to be able to measure sport and physical activity participation
rates at a local level and the Harrogate district has secured a
high score in this new research commissioned by Sport
England.
The study shows that on average 37 per cent of Yorkshire and
Humber adults take part in at least 30 minutes sport and active
recreation but in the Harrogate district this figure rises to 41
per cent, with 34 per cent taking up membership of a sporting club
and a quarter of the district's population receiving some sort of
sport coaching.
This news comes in the week that Kevin Douglas, the Director
of Leisure and Amenity Services, leaves to take up his new
challenge as Executive Director of the council's newly created
policy and improvement department.
And with seventeen years at the helm of the council's leisure
department, Kevin couldn't be a happier man to be leaving on such a
high note. He said:
"This is just the best news I could have
had this week. We have had so much success over
the past seventeen years in providing sporting and leisure activity
in the district and it is gratifying to be able to see it formally
measured across our region. I have been
lucky to have had the support of some of the best staff a director
could have wished for over the past seventeen
years. I have also been fortunate to have worked
for a council, which puts a high priority on leisure and sporting
activity. They have been prepared to invest not
just money but also time and effort in raising extra funds when the
council's resources just couldn't meet expectations.
"We have raised over £2.5m from creating new policies
which demand developers provide funding for the provision of
recreational facilities. We have also been
fortunate to attract many millions of pounds from bodies such as
English Heritage and Sport England. There has
also been a lot of support from many communities who have committed
themselves to help the council raise the standards of leisure and
sporting activity in our district."
ENDS
FURTHER INFORMATION: Mr Kevin Douglas is
available on 01423 556705.