Pilot area: Clay Cross and Danesmoor.
Focus: families and young people.
Desired Outcome: Walking for travel within and between our key communities, with an objective of achieving better connected communities and improving the health and well-being of our residents.
Lead Partner: Derbyshire Voluntary Action (DVA).
In collaboration with: North East Derbyshire District Council, Active Derbyshire, First Art, Live Life Better Derbyshire, Parish Council, DCC Public Health, Rethink.
Between November 30th and December 21st Clay Cross hosted a self led Christmas trail.
The aim of the trail was to get local families outside in the fresh air doing a free and fun activity together. They had to walk around Clay Cross using the trail guide to find clues on what Badger needed for his festive fuddle! Roughly 160 families took part in the trail over the three week period.
We had the unwavering support of Nicole our Tesco Community Champion and the Customer Service Team who looked after the trail for us during this period. We also used local printing services at We Do More Than Print who are based in Clay Cross. Finally we had the support of local businesses in the town centre to host the clues – Ashgate Hospice Charity Shop, Royal Primary Care Clay Cross, Silver Web Holistic Centre, The Beige Studio, Obsessive Recessive Animal Treats, Clay Cross Social Centre, Pink Gorilla Studio, Graze, Clay Cross Light House Charity Shop. Without all of these businesses and partners this really wouldn’t have been possible.
A huge, huge THANK YOU to First Art – Kate, Karl, Hannah and Steph for all their hard work getting the designs, layout and printing sorted and their support in all social media presence in Clay Cross.
Written by Hayley Bramley, Walking Into Communities Development Officer
Local Clay Cross businesses play host to free family Christmas trail
It’s Gold for the Clay Cross Games
Over 650 people turned out to the first ever Clay Cross Games on Sunday 28 July at Sharley Park, for an afternoon filled with fun, games and plenty of community spirit. Families and friends from Clay Cross, Danesmoor, and beyond enjoyed the event designed by the local community, which featured a wide array of activities and performances designed to entertain and engage all ages.
The event included classic sports day races with a twist, including the Sack Race, Egg and Spoon Race, and Silly Relay. Attendees also had the chance to challenge opponents in the Gladiator Area, test their football skills in the Penalty Shoot-Out, and try their hand at target shooting, soft axe throwing and more. The Clay Cross Games provided a bit of everything, for the competitive spirits or for those simply looking for a laugh.
As well as sports activities, attendees were able to take part in circus skills sessions from Circus Hub, and creative workshops with Raph Achache and Kenning Park Forest School.
A face painting and glitter tattoo area gave people a signature look, while Sharley Park’s own Rumbles Coffee Lounge, offered picnic packs and hot dogs to ensure everyone was well-fed. Many attendees also brought their own picnics and soaked up the atmosphere in the decked out chill out area.
Kieran Hardcastle expertly compered the event, keeping the crowd entertained throughout the day while the Sports Desk provide some brilliant and slightly silly commentary for the Games. There were also musical performances Lexi Whiteside and AC Trio, and everyone was kept in check by the Clay Cross Games Ridiculous Referees.
The afternoon was rounded off with Tape That, a charming, light-hearted acrobatic duet by Hands Down Circus.
Designed by the community, for the community
The event was conceived and designed by a group of local community members who collaborated with First Art and the Out and About Consortium. The games and activities were conceived by the group and site decorations, including flags and dream catchers, were crafted by local people during pre-event workshops.
One community member said:
“Hands down the best free event I’ve ever been to. You did absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for bringing this to our little community. Hope we have more of this please. Massive thank you to you all.”
The event was supported by the Out and About Consortium, part of the North East Derbyshire Active Neighbourhood Pilot. This initiative has been set up to encourage more people to participate in walking activities and promotes physical activity and community engagement. Attendees walked an average of 4,500 steps (just over 2 miles) throughout the day, with many walking to the event from their nearby homes. The Clay Cross Games exemplify how community-driven initiatives can successfully bring people together to embrace healthier, more active lifestyles.
First Art is an arts charity working with communities across Ashfield, Mansfield, Bolsover, and North-East Derbyshire to enable people first-hand arts and cultural experiences in their local area. From putting on outdoor arts festivals to supporting family events in communities, they offer a wide range of ways for local people and partners to have their say, take part, develop, give new cultural things a go and make quality art events and activities happen.
Future Plans
We are hoping this is the start if many community events in Clay Cross and Danesmoor, but we need the help of the community to do this. If you’re interested in getting involved in our future community events, then please email info@firstart.org.uk for an informal chat and more information.
A spokesperson for First Art said:
“With the success of this year’s event, we’re keen to look at the possibility of hosting another Clay Cross Games and more events in Clay Cross and Danesmoor.
“The Out and About Consortium invites the whole community—residents, teachers, students, businesses, and others—to collaborate and come up with ideas for future events.”
Written by Kelly Massey, North East Derbyshire Active Neighbourhood Pilot
© Dean Leivers 2024
Empowering local people can make a huge impact on the look and feel of a community. Recently in Clay Cross we saw this difference through a local litter pick where local people came together to tidy up their town.
44 local people joined together to help clean up the streets, and green spaces, of Clay Cross. Everyone who came spoke about their desire to see Clay Cross as a cleaner, safer and more welcoming place to live and shop.
The idea for a community litter pick came from discussions and community engagement via the NED Active Neighbourhood Pilot; who are currently working in the community speaking to local people to find out how to get more people walking in and around Clay Cross and Danesmoor. “The ANP wants to use the views and ideas from local people to strengthen the foundation of our community and encourage more people to get outdoors and get involved with what’s happening locally. If you are interested in being a part of our community focus group, then please get in touch”.
After the litter pick the group undertook some community engagement and informal discussions around walking and what was needed in Clay Cross and Danesmoor. People felt strongly that more needed to be done regarding litter, and the effects this has on our wildlife and community.
It was suggested that the litter picking becomes a regular event in the area, and this is exactly what we have done! Based on local views we have now funded two litter picking kits: one for Clay Cross and one for Danesmoor, so that local people can collect the equipment and make a difference. This is all free of charge and has been funded by the NED Active Neighbourhood Pilot.
As a group, 25 bags of rubbish were collected and this would not have been possible without NEDDC Streetscene team who provided all of the litter picking equipment and disposed of all the rubbish collected. Thank you to Rykneld Homes and Clay Cross Social Centre who supported the event, Jacksons Bakery for providing lunch and the lovely residents of Clay Cross for showing us the true meaning of community spirit.
Written by Hayley Bramley, Walking Into Communities Development Officer for North East Derbyshire
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the walking survey back in July.
The Active Neighbourhood Pilot in Clay Cross has secured £100K until March 2025. The first phase of the pilot is complete and focused on engagement with residents living in Clay Cross and Danesmoor to find out more about existing walking habits and behaviours. We had an amazing total of 556 respondents to the survey and your responses have given us four key priorities to focus on next with young people and families:
We are just starting the second phase of the pilot and plan to work closely with anyone from the local community who would like to be involved to find some practical ways to get us all moving more, help to co-design solutions and action some of the findings.
Derbyshire Voluntary Action (DVA) are leading this piece of work with a working group of partners supporting the walking agenda in Clay Cross. We’ve successfully recruited a Community Connector to continue to engage with residents and support this piece of work. We are working closely with First Art who will run creative engagement sessions around walking and there will be a series of planned one-off events and workshops with interested residents to co-create new walking opportunities.
We will stay connected to let you know how things are shaping up over the next 15 months, but we’d love you to consider joining the working group to add your resident voice. Contact Juliet Grace email: juliet@dva.org.uk to find out more. Or if you prefer to connect with our Community Connector, Andy Rouse, email: andy@rousie.co.uk to have your say, volunteer or to support solutions on the ground to get Clay Cross Walking.
Juliet Grace said “We all know that walking is a great way to get exercise, save money on petrol, access our local parks, shops and facilities and so on. That doesn’t mean we find it easy or bother to do it! This pilot project means local people in Danesmoor and Clay Cross get the chance to shape new ideas and solutions that work for them. Everyone is welcome to get involved and there will be lots of opportunities to share your thoughts and ideas to get us all walking more.’’
Andy Rouse said “There are so many people in Clay Cross and Danesmoor who already have a positive attitude towards exercise and health, and to all of you, I have a great admiration however, if you’re like me, you can probably always find a good reason why doing something active for yourself, or even just having a 15-minute walk is a bigger chore than it needs to be. I recently started walking with my daughter and after just a few walks, I already feel like I’ve found a new and exciting opportunity in my life to become a healthier person whilst enjoying being out in the community and feeling so much better for it.
“I’ve joined this local project as the Community Connector so over the coming year, you’ll hopefully be seeing more of me out and about encouraging all generations to try and adopt a healthier lifestyle, but I’d like to ask you, could you do more for yourself and your family? This pilot scheme will provide some funding for a number of local incentives, so now is a great time for you, your friends and your family to engage in a healthier lifestyle. So, whether you decide to make a change today or sometime in the near future, I’d like to urge you to support us wherever you can but at least take some time out to reflect and see if you can do more for yourself or our local children. May I also take this opportunity to wish you the best of luck in 2024 and I hope you can engage to becoming a better version of yourself.”
Look out for more information on this webpage and please do get in touch if you’re interested in getting involved.
