MELKSHAM will soon be part of the worldwide parkrun community, thanks to grants given by the town and parish councils and Melksham Area Board.
Parkrun is an organised, free weekly 5k run that is held all around the world. It is open to anyone, young, old, serious runners or people just wanting to get outside and exercise.
Colin Goodhind, chair of Melksham Community Area Partnership came up with the idea to bring parkrun to Melksham. He said, “I’m delighted the three councils decided to each fund a third of the £3,000 required. The support was enthusiastic and they all see parkrun as being in line with their health and wellbeing strategies i.e. helping people to get or stay fit.
“Several councillors felt it would bring people into the town who may not visit otherwise. I’ve addressed concerns raised about the impact on car parks, particularly Waitrose, by meeting with management representatives and neither Waitrose or Sainsbury’s want to discourage potential customers from parking in their car parks. We have agreed to work together to manage any parking issues.
“We’re in the process of fixing a date for a meeting of all those interested and will keep you posted. As far as the first event is concerned I would guess it will be towards the end of November or early December.”
Jon Hubbard, chairman of Melksham Area Board said, “I am delighted that the area board has agreed to support this fantastic initiative by Colin and the team. The area board will be joining Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council in bringing parkrun to Melksham.
“I have vigorously supported this project as I feel that it will help with bringing more people into our town centre on a Saturday morning, as well as provide a fun, free activity that will help people to keep fit – I’m a little nervous about how I will manage to take part, but I will certainly be giving it a go!
“We live in times when communities increasingly need to help themselves and seizing opportunities like this cannot be missed. Well done to Colin and all of his team for the hard work they have put into making this happen, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to deliver on this project.”
