Parents and children start to enjoy the new outdoor gym at Broadclyst. In the photo are (background l-r): Cllr Peter Bowden (EDDC Ward Member); Cllr Iain Chubb (EDDC Cabinet Member for Environment); Cllr Simon Staddon (Broadclyst Parish Council); Helen Cutting (Parish Council Administrator); Tina Deacon (Parish Council employee) with her son and daughter-in-law. On the swing are Tom and Lucy Massey, watched by Kayley Cutting.

Burn off Christmas calories at outdoor gym

Broadclyst’s new £9,000 outdoor gym is ready to use! East Devon District Council has been working hard with Broadclyst Parish Council to provide residents with the free-to-use outdoor gym that they wanted.

Having an outdoor gym in Broadclyst was proposed and chosen by the local community. Earlier this year Broadclyst Parish Council and EDDC asked community groups and others to put forward their ideas as to how £11,800 of sports funding accumulated from recent local housing developments (Section 106 money) should be spent.

These ideas were then taken out to residents and they got to vote on which ones they wanted to happen in Broadclyst. One of the winning ideas was to spend £9,000 on free-to-use outdoor gym facilities. The second winning project at the cricket club is being progressed with the final project of new football goals and boot scrapers already installed to boost the sports facilities in the village.

Broadclyst Parish Council, the National Trust, EDDC and Broadclyst VIPs researched possible locations and what types of equipment could be provided. They decided that the gym equipment will be best placed in a group on the recreation field, where the parish council will maintain, insure and inspect it.

Residents got to choose from three different designs for the outdoor gym at a further voting event held in the Sports Pavilions; the design with the most votes is the one that has now been installed.

The project was delivered under council delegation by Broadclyst VIPs (Villagers Improving Play), a voluntary community group which formed in 2009 to look at improving the sports and recreational facilities in the village. Successful projects delivered by the group now total over £110,000 and include a bespoke play area, teen zone and BMX track.

VIP member Jackie Massey said: “ This is a very exciting project for the community which will provide everyone with an opportunity to have a go on some gym equipment whenever they want. It could not have happened at a better time either; often people over-indulge during the Christmas period and set goals to exercise more in the new year…well, now there are no excuses!"

Councillor Iain Chubb, EDDC's cabinet member for the environment, said: “This is an excellent free of charge facility for Broadclyst, provided by Broadclyst Parish Council and EDDC working in partnership. Thank you to all the residents that came out and voted for the projects as well as those who put forward the idea originally”.