Above: Councillor Jane Carr with young people at Let’s Kick It, one of the new Bletchley Clubs
The first in a wave of new community clubs aimed at connecting local people with social and wellbeing activities has opened in Bletchley thanks to a partnership led by Milton Keynes City Council.
Based at Sir Herbert Leon school, ‘Let’s Kick It’ offers weekly football coaching to children aged 4-14 years old and is the first of many Bletchley Clubs being planned.
The City Council and NHS have set aside £150,000 over the next 15 months to fund clubs and activities in Bletchley. The funding will enable residents, community groups and organisations to run events that benefit the community, ranging from entertainment or skills classes to sports and physical activities.
The new initiative follows similar projects in The Lakes Estate and Fullers Slade, where 32 clubs were attended by around 10,000 people in the past year.
The City Council will work alongside the NHS to ensure that the most vulnerable adults and children are supported by the clubs.
"This is about supporting local people to set up social activities and clubs within their own community. Bletchley Clubs will offer an opportunity to meet new people, make friends and potentially, learn new skills. Feedback from similar schemes elsewhere in the city has been very positive and we’re pleased to be launching something like this for our residents in Bletchley.”
You can learn more about Bletchley Clubs by visiting: www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/bletchley-clubs