Cutting-edge park aimed at fighting childhood obesity
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| A boy has fun on play equipment similar to the attractions proposed for Chineham |
A PROPOSED outdoor sports park in Chineham will feature cutting-edge technology in a bid to fight teenage obesity.
As part of a £495,000 facility earmarked for Binfields Farm Lane, state-of-the-art rides have been chosen to get the "PlayStation generation" outside and active again.
Speaking at a meeting of Chineham Parish Council, borough council designer Steve Welsh said the Binfields Games Area would include features that would be both challenging and fun, while encouraging exercise.
He said: "We have consulted with young people to see what activities they wanted and this is what we came up with.
"It will be a positive addition to Chineham, providing something innovative and interesting for young people."
Among the attractions is an Intelligent Play (I-Play) system - a solar-powered machine that gives the whole body an aerobic workout by using different adjustments that are prompted by audio commands from a digital console.
Players can enter their scores on a supporting website and view the scores of others on a system league table.
Made by Lake District firm Playdale, the equipment is from a range planned for the park that operates on the principle of stealth exercise - where children exercise without knowing it.
Recent figures published by the National Child Measurement Programme show that 31.6 per cent of youngsters are deemed overweight by the time they reach 13.
Barry Leahey, Playdale sales director, said the aim of the products was to try to prise today's sofa-bound youngsters from their consoles, computers and satellite TV.
He said: "Youngsters these days need to be engaged more to get them outdoors again, and, to do this, we have introduced technology and variety to the play area."
Other features of the park will include a skate zone, a death slide and BMX ramps.
Plans have been redrawn after concerns were raised about it becoming a haven for boozed-up hoodies.
Mr Welsh stressed the area would be declared an alcohol-free zone to keep drunken youngsters at bay.
It will also include beefed-up boundaries to stop any troublemakers fleeing in all directions when the police arrive.
Mr Welsh added: "There has been a lack of sports facilities for young people in Chineham for years."
Council officers will gauge local opinion at special drop-in sessions to be held at Christ Church, Chineham, tomorrow and Wednesday, from 6pm to 9pm.
Borough councillor Martin Biermann, who represents Chineham, said some of the proposed rides were "potentially groundbreaking".
He said: "Anything that takes us forward with tackling obesity is great. It's definitely worth taking the plunge."
However, he said while it was important to accommodate the needs of youngsters, older people were a fast-growing group that should not be forgotten.
He repeated a call he made to the parish council in February for outdoor playground equipment for pensioners in a separate park to help keep older residents exercised in body and mind.
"Senior persons' facilities are something we must press for quite seriously," he said.
So-called "pensioners' parks" are increasingly common in Germany.
12:46pm Monday 9th June 2008
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CommentPosted by: BonzoDog, local on 8:57am Thu 12 Jun 08
So it's fine for the children in Chineham then, but there are many children with little to do in the rest of town.
Their parents are hardly going to transport their children to this place more than once, maybe twice. The buses are next to useless too.
So when are these hi-tech parks going to open in other areas I wonder?
If they're popular there'll soon be a turnstile to get in, with some sort of pre-paid card for the kids to purchase.
If they're not popular the security will be relaxed and they'll turn into the funparks we know so well, negotiating the bottles, cans, condoms and needles just to get in.
At least someone can see why obesity among children is so bad at the moment. Apart from the closing of parks, playgrounds and other outdoor events, there's the lack of sports in schools assuming the government hasn't sold the land to greedy developers.
Sports centres should be [bold]free[/bold] for children, as their meagure pocket money hardly copes with the price at the door, let alone the fare to get there and back. This is where changes are needed, not in some short term 'fancy park' - soon forgotten and sadly neglected.
So it's fine for the children in Chineham then, but there are many children with little to do in the rest of town.
Their parents are hardly going to transport their children to this place more than once, maybe twice. The buses are next to useless too.
So when are these hi-tech parks going to open in other areas I wonder?
If they're popular there'll soon be a turnstile to get in, with some sort of pre-paid card for the kids to purchase.
If they're not popular the security will be relaxed and they'll turn into the funparks we know so well, negotiating the bottles, cans, condoms and needles just to get in.
At least someone can see why obesity among children is so bad at the moment. Apart from the closing of parks, playgrounds and other outdoor events, there's the lack of sports in schools assuming the government hasn't sold the land to greedy developers.
Sports centres should be
free for children, as their meagure pocket money hardly copes with the price at the door, let alone the fare to get there and back. This is where changes are needed, not in some short term 'fancy park' - soon forgotten and sadly neglected.
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