National recognition for Liberal Democrat Council's Bletchley-based Active Communities Project

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 6th Jul 2005

The Bletchley-based Active Communities project has been praised by Sports England as a model of good practice.

Over the last five years, the project has promoted and developed participation in sport and recreation among the residents of Fenny Stratford and Eaton Manor wards - and is now rated among the best in the UK.

This groundbreaking project has flourished within the heart of the community it serves, inspiring residents to use sport and active recreation to address community and health issues.

Active Communities Bletchley was established after the Council's leisure services team successfully bid for funding from Sport England. A total of £125,000 was awarded for a five-year project, with additional funding of £30,000 per year over five years from the Single Regeneration Budget and £10,000 per year from Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council for the project's duration.

An independent agency appointed to evaluate Sports England's projects was very impressed with Bletchley Active Communities' approach to community improvement, reporting that "as an example of positive, multi-agency partnership working, the project has proved itself to be something of a template."

Liberal Democrat Councillor Euan Henderson, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: "I am delighted that Sport England has recognised the outstanding efforts of Council staff and our partners. Active Communities Bletchley is making a major contribution to the creation of a truly inclusive local community. Working in partnership is the way forward for Liberal Democrats ."

Richard Davis, the Council's Sports Development Officer added: "This project has been hugely successful. It gets lots of mentions by Sport England, and is often held up as a model of good practice. We've had fantastic support from the town council and the local community. A lot of the ideas it has come up with and delivered are now being used elsewhere."

The project has worked across a wide range of initiatives, and the evaluators highlighted the following aspects as having achieved outstanding results:

• DIBBLE (Drop-In Badminton, Better Life Experience) is a Badminton Association of England initiative that was created with the intention of promoting integration and harmony among black and minority ethnic communities while bringing local people together and improving health. Through this project, the Bletchley Badminton Club has been established.

• Different Cultures, One Community Cup was an 8-week football project engaging players from the Somali, Bangladeshi and Punjabi communities. It was seen as particularly successful not only in engaging people from different ethnic backgrounds in sport, but also in actively encouraging integration between the groups.

• A cricket event named The Dhaka Trophy (commemorating the first test match held in Dhaka, Bangladesh) took place in Summer 2003. It engaged 50 children from 4 local schools, who received professional 'kwik-cricket' coaching, before competing in a tournament for the trophy.