Epsom's Longmead Centre receives new funding commitment

People occupying flats to rent in Epsom are to benefit from a new funding boost for the local Longmead Centre leisure facility.

Barclays Spaces for Sports has announced that it will be providing the centre with a £15,000 grant to introduce new schemes and sessions to help encourage locals to get active and healthy.

Among them will be new Just Play football sessions for adults that commenced this week, inviting Epsom residents and other site users to take part in friendly but competitive five-a-side matches.

In addition, money from the grant will be allocated to encourage more girls to engage in physical activity and to run a vocational sports programme for young people who are not in education, employment or training.

This comes after the Longmead Centre previously received a £55,000 package to create the multi-use games area (MUGA) where the new programmes will be held, as well as a £20,000 development grant to run Longmeadz Kickn', a Fulham FC Foundation programme.

Nicola Gray, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council's community sports development officer, said: "Over the last five years, Barclays Spaces for Sports have supported our programmes enabling us to run projects for our hard-to-reach groups and to make sport even more accessible to the young people in our community.

"This new grant will help us extend the range of activities at the Longmead MUGA, offer training and vocational programmes for our young people and encourage their development."

Longmead Centre is currently open five days a week and also provides various events and classes to help local residents become physically and socially active.

Activities organised by the centre include exercise classes, line dancing, Tai Chi and indoor bowls, as well as chess, games nights, computer classes, bingo and arts & crafts groups.

Posted by Charles Mackay

Published 24th November, 2011

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