Walk Derbyshire are looking for local residents in Amber Valley, in the areas of Somercotes, Ironville and Riddings to join them in supporting people to move more.
The Walk Derbyshire Amber Valley group was set up to engage with the community and collaborate with them for ideas to support people to walk more. The group consists of residents and organisations from the public and voluntary sector. From the months of April to September Clare Salmons (Amber Valley CVS) engaged with the community to understand the barriers and opportunities to walking in the area, especially for those living with long term health conditions and disabilities.
The engagement work found that most people are doing the best they can but have a lot of other responsibilities that get in the way of their activity. 26% of those involved are a carer for someone else and 87% are disabled under the Equalities Act. People’s definition of “walking” was different as some would regularly walk to the shops or to other places but didn’t count it as walking, but some did. She also found that there were safety concerns such as uneven surfaces, anti-social behaviour and lack of benches, and residents asked for more indoor and low level walking activities.
One resident explained how a pacemaker completely changed their life and to “never take walking for granted”.
Another, 96 year old walks every day to socialise for their mental and physical health, without the need for any medication.
Through the insight gathered the next steps are for the group to get together and look into the possible offers they can provide the community, such as chair based exercises, home exercises and indoor walks. Another potential focus is supporting carers and working with programmes like Get Out Get Active (GOGA). Amber Valley Borough Council is also currently looking into enhancing their exercise by referral programme and have plans to integrate it further into the network.
Resident voice is important in making sure that the community is being represented and that any support is actively helping people to move more in a way that fits them. Walk Derbyshire wants to work more collaboratively, so are inviting residents to join the group to have a say in the activities and services in the area.
If you are interested in joining or want to know more, please contact Chris Frost at chrisfrost@avcvs.org or 01773512076. Visit Amber Valley- ANP – (walkderbyshire.org.uk).
“We want to co-create with the residents in the area as we know, you know your area the best and what it needs to support people to move more ”- Chris Frost.
