Free gym classes for children in Harrogate and Knaresborough this month

Children and young people can access free fitness classes in Harrogate and Knaresborough this month.

The move comes after North Yorkshire Council said this week it hopes to encourage young people to “get active” following statistics released by Sport England.

In a press release, the council said the data showed 2.2 million young people do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day.

To tackle the problem locally, the authority is offering free fitness classes throughout May at the two Brimhams Active-run leisure centres, which reopened last year following a multi-million-pound revamp.

Children aged six to 12 can take advantage of the offer.

The council’s corporate director for community development, Nic Harne, said:

“We have a wide range of programmes and activities for children in all our leisure centres as we foster increased participation which is not only good for their health and wellbeing but encourages social activities too.

“Those classes range from our learn to swim programmes and junior gym sessions to our new music classes in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

“We also have a range of local sports clubs that deliver variety of sports and fun sessions in our swimming pools and sports halls.”

The council said the ‘Born to Move’ classes will offer sessions merging movement and play to “experience the joy and vitality of moving to music”.

One of the teachers, Zoe Murray, added:

“These are really great classes for getting young people into a group exercise environment and feeling really comfortable with it at a young age. All the kids have a great time.”

The offer is free throughout May and sessions will cost £5 thereafter. Born to Move classes will be broken down by age groups.

Sessions will be held on Fridays at 5pm in Harrogate and 10.30am on Saturdays in Knaresborough.

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Council’s new leisure company to focus on health and wellbeing

Harrogate Borough Council said the aim of its new leisure company will be to create more active, longer, and independent lives.

It has pledged that Brimhams Active, the new authority controlled company, will be more focussed on overall health and wellbeing.

Some 200 Harrogate Borough Council employees transferred over to Brimhams Active yesterday.  It’ll run 11 leisure venues, including The Hydro in Harrogate, Knaresborough Pool, Ripon Leisure Centre and Nidderdale Pool and is projected to save the council £400,000 a year.

Residents can use the new website to find out more about the services provided by Brimham’s Active as well booking sessions at leisure centres and facilities across the Harrogate district.

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Leisure facilities in the district are undergoing something of a transformation with not all of it going according to plan.  There’s to be a £26 million investment in the Harrogate Hydro and a new leisure centre at Knaresborough, which is expected to be financed by borrowing from the government.  Ripon’s new £10.2 million pool and leisure centre is due to open in November. However the project has recently been the subject of serious safety concerns after a report into a hole in the ground which appeared on the site.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, said:

“The scale of the challenge set for us is more than matched by the scale of the opportunities we have in our grasp. Launching Brimhams Active with a new strategy and investment programme will allow us to transform a conventional leisure service into a leading community focussed health and wellbeing service.

“There is clear evidence that people need to be more active to combat rising obesity levels and prevent ill health due to poor lifestyle choice.

“Our vision and strategy has some clear and achievable objectives. We will help Harrogate district residents of all ages, from all walks of life, live a healthy lifestyle and stay active for longer. We know we can’t do this alone and nor should we. We will work with partner organisations and stakeholders to develop partnerships and facilities to provide a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.”