Connect with us

Winchester News Online

Winchester Sport And Leisure Park Set For End Of May Opening

Avatar

Published

on

(Photo by Kit Robinson)

Winchester’s new Sport & Leisure park is on track for its scheduled opening in late May. In an open forum Cllr Prince stated, “We are really excited about the new centre opening to the public in late May. It has been a fantastic achievement by the contractors, Willmott Dixon, to progress a construction of this size during such a challenging year. They have kept their workers safe on site throughout, and will still manage to complete the centre by our original target date of a spring opening. The centre will provide residents and visitors with incredible sport and leisure facilities and help bring our communities together to be healthy and active. We look forward to a celebration event later in the year when government guidelines allow.”

The site location is at The Garrison Ground and is in the Bar End area of Winchester. Building Contractors, Willmott Dixon value the project at £37 Million and have spent 95 weeks on the construction. Willmott Dixon will handover the building in the first week of May so it can be ready by the end of May.

(Photo by Kit Robinson)

The construction started in March 2019 after the centre was approved the month before. The centre plans to include a multiple pools, a hydrotherapy suite, fitness suites, treatment rooms and a sports hall. There are also plans for a Cafe near to the entrance offering healthy food and drink.

Everyone Active, operator of Winchester’s River Park Leisure Centre, which is being replaced after over 40 years, is also going to operate this centre and they are developing programmes to ensure a wide range of activities. 

Despite Government guidelines allowing leisure centres to reopen from April 12th, River Park Leisure Centre will now close. Cllr Malcolm Prince, Cabinet Member for Sport, Leisure and Communities went on to say, “This centre has served us well and is loved by many but it is not cost effective to open it for such a short time before our new centre opens. We will use this space from mid-April to prepare the complex COVID requirements for the 2021 election.” 

Customers are able to buy memberships and access special deals for the new centre now ready for the opening.

Continue Reading

News

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 2025 launches in Winchester

Avatar

Published

on

“Wearing a poppy during Remembrance shows that you care,” says the Royal British Legion, as this year’s Poppy Appeal is launched in the lead-up to Remembrance Day. 

Poppies are on sale across the country | Photo Credit: Kieran Tibbert

The annual fundraising campaign by the Royal British Legion supports members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, personnel and their families. 

Chris Hayward is managing the Poppy Appeal in North Hampshire & Winchester and said: “It’s a national symbol, and it shows the armed forces community that you appreciate everything that they do.” 

She added: “For those who want to get involved, you can wear your poppy, donate to the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal, and also participate in the collections and volunteer as a collector.” 

The Poppy Appeal remains the Legion’s biggest annual fundraiser.  

Last year, more than 32 million poppies were distributed across the UK, and about £51.4 million was raised in donations. 

Winchester will be recognising remembrance itself, with a service at the Cathedral on Sunday, 9th November, in addition to a service at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on Armistice Day. 

The service will begin at 9:20 am and will include a procession from The Broadway to Winchester Cathedral, as well as wreath laying too. 

Donations from the campaign go towards services including mental health support, housing assistance and employment advice for veterans transitioning to civilian life. 

For more information on how to donate, volunteer or order poppies online, visit: britishlegion.org.uk/poppyappeal.  

Continue Reading

Winchester News Online

How the NHS can recommend gardening to improve metal health

Avatar

Published

on

A panel of gardening experts answered the burning questions of Winchester gardeners at a Question Time style Q&A held at St Swithun’s School.

Questions ranged from what soil to use this time of year to why some types of plants aren’t flourishing in Winchester but, as the gardening event fell on World Mental Health Day, this posed another question: whether the two are connected?

Gardening is an example of a “nature-related activity”, which can be recommended by the NHS to improve mental wellbeing under a term called social prescribing.

The panel’s Charles Carr, head of Wholesale Nurseries at Hilliers, shared how he thinks gardening is beneficial to your mental health.

Charles described it as “relaxation” and “contacting with nature”.

He believes it is a very good way of “de-stressing and putting yourself into the moment”.

Attendees of the event also shared why they enjoy their hobby.

Neil Budd, a parent from the school and regular BBC Gardener’s Question Time listener, got into gardening as a young boy but now enjoys the “peace and quiet” that it provides from his children.

He wasn’t surprised to learn that nature-related activities like gardening can be recommended by the NHS, as he says it helps you relax as well as being a break away from work.

Former social worker, Roberta Brockman is an ex St Swithuns pupil who returned to the school for the Gardeners Q&A.

She emphasised how the hobby encourages people to join gardening clubs and enter shows, which can create new friendships for people later in life.

According to NHS England, more than 8,500 people were referred to a green social prescribing activity between April 2021 and March 2023 and findings showed improvements in mental health.

Continue Reading

Winchester News Online

Turning the page: Can young people fall Back in love with reading?

Avatar

Published

on

When is the last time you picked up a book for the sake of your own enjoyment?

Once a beloved childhood pastime, reading books is now becoming more rare among young people.

An annual report by the National Literacy Trust found that reading rates among younger generations are plummeting every year.

The study found that the amount of young people aged eight to 18 who read for their own enjoyment has dropped to just 1 in 3.

This has resulted in a 36% decrease from when the study began taking place 20 years ago.

Professionals are growing concerned about young peoples comprehension skills, empathy levels, and their creativity, all attributes which are strongly connected to reading.

In an age of scrolling, streaming, and gaming, the appeal of a paperback no longer seems to compete with screens.

But in Winchester, community efforts are helping to spark that interest again.

Local children’s bookseller Jo works with schools to run author events and workshops to get stories back into young hands.

“Authors go in to schools and talk to the kids directly about their books and get them really engaged and I see that have such a great effect.”

As reading habits evolve, experts advise the goal isn’t to fight technology, it’s to find new ways to make stories matter again.

For reading to thrive like before, families, schools, and publishers will need to work together to make stories feel relevant and remind young people that reading is educational in more ways than one.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.