OUTDOOR sports sessions which have proved a huge hit with children in a dale village are to be offered again during the summer holidays.
Gainford and Langton Parish Council was told more than 50 youngsters had attended sessions at the village recreation ground during the Easter holidays, while 40 joined in during the Whit half term break.
The activities are organised by the parish council and hosted by Swankie Sports.
Cllr Sarah Hannan said a grant of £6,360 had been agreed by Teesdale Action Partnership towards the estimated £12,000 cost of putting on sessions three days a week for the six weeks of the summer holidays.
At last week’s parish council meeting, Cllr Hannan proposed that the parish council put in £2,000 while a bid to the Gainford Trust would be made for the other £4,000.
Clerk Martin Clark said if there was any shortfall in funding, the parish council could use money from its reserves to cover the remaining costs, bearing in mind the summer holidays were only a few weeks away.
Raising the £12,000 would mean the sessions were free to any child in the village who wished to attend, the meeting was told.
Cllr Hannan said this was important, given what youngsters had been through during the Covid-19 crisis.
“It seems quite a lot [to spend] for the summer holidays but the social deprivation that children have suffered over the last year is such that I don’t want children to be excluded from anything we do.”
Activities organised during the previous sessions have included everything from archery and golf to obstacle courses and football.
“What’s happened with the recreation field is absolutely fantastic,” added Cllr Hannan.
Looking to the future, Cllr Hannan said thought needed to be given to year-round provision.
“The rec field has been incredibly successful, but it is no use after school when it gets dark in the winter. We need to look at some sort of indoor sporting facilities,” she said.
While the sports sessions have proved popular with children of primary school age, the issue of engaging teenagers was also raised at the meeting.
Cllr Hannan said over the years the parish council had run several youth clubs and had also funded a bus to take teenagers to the TCR Hub, in Barnard Castle, to make use of the facilities there.
While they had worked well for a time, they had eventually tended to run their course.
Members agreed to provide £2,000 towards the cost of the summer sports sessions.
