Manchester rewarded for creating a lasting legacy

Health programme building on the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games has won Manchester a prestigious sustainable communities award.

Manchester City Council picked by the award in the 'Building a Lasting Legacy' category at this year's Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal Sustainable Communities Awards.

The award, sponsored by international consultancy EC Harris, was in recognition of the council's efforts in ensuring that the legacy of CG2002 is continued through a series of programmes, such as health and education to the wider community.

In their submission the judging panel described the Manchester bid as 'demonstrating a clear linkage to a major sporting event and delivered a lasting legacy that is truly inspirational.

The strong focus on the next generation and the wider community involvement in sport through their inclusive and involving approach has also delivered exceptional sporting performance'.

The Building a Lasting Legacy category, which included a judge from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, aims to encourage councils and their partners to seize this opportunity, and to spread best practice across the country.

Graham Kean, Head of the Public Sector for EC Harris, said: "Major sporting events from the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester to the 2012 Olympic Games provide great opportunities for the whole country to make a lasting difference to their communities.

"Manchester has shown the wider local government community how to build on a successful event (CG2002) to encourage young and old to participate in sport and live healthy, lead constructive lives, give a boost to local businesses through tourism, and how to develop inclusive communities where everyone has an opportunity to succeed".

One of the legacies of CG2002 has been the development of squash in the city.

Some of the initiatives following 2002 include the hosting of the annual National Squash Championships at Sportcity.

Also Sportcity hosts National League squash matches, county events and regular training.

In addition, all local primary schools attend regular, ongoing coaching sessions, and as part of the legacy of 2002, holiday programmes and squash festivals for local primary schools are held all over the city.

The Squash Inclusion programme is also used to help young people temporarily excluded from school to support their reintegration back into mainstream education.

"As 2012 draws nearer and speculation about its legacy grows, one only needs to look at the CG2002 legacy to see what can be achieved", added Kean.

In 2007, Manchester will work with a number of partner agencies to help deliver 'Get Manchester Moving', a citywide physical activity programme to promote and raise awareness of physical activity, its benefits, and where activities are available.

The programme, whose partners include Manchester Public Health Development Service, Manchester City Football Club and Manchester Joint Health Unit, aims to show local people how to make physical activity a 'part of their everyday life' without the need to go to a gym or leisure centre.

Also highly commended at the event, held at The Brewery in London, was a sustainable project from the Bradford District Health Development Partnerships to encourage families, particularly with the Asian population, to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle through swimming and education.

This was the second year of the LGC/HSJ Sustainable Communities Awards and was held in association with the Department of the Environment, Food and the Regional Affairs and the Department for Communities and Local Government are supporting the second Sustainable Communities Awards.

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