Beat the Street comes to Harwich
The project launched by Active Essex and Tendring District Council offers residents prizes for walking or cycling
Last updated 29th Sep 2021
Over the next five weeks, residents of Harwich and neighbouring areas like Dovercourt, Parkeston, Ramsey and Little Oakley, can win prizes and raise money for local charities by simply choosing to walk or cycle instead of taking their cars to different destinations. Beat
'Beat the Street' is being piloted by Active Essex in Harwich and will reward residents for walking, cycling, hopping, skipping, jumping, whatever keeps them fit and active. Cheryl Lomas is the Local Delivery Pilot Coordinator for Active Essex. She says, "People in Harwich can expect all of the town and nearby areas to turn into a massive game, a big playground on their doorsteps where children, families, workmates can all get together and get more active for five weeks and win loads of prizes."
Those interested can head to the website and register for free, before heading to various collection points to pick up their key-cards. These cards are used to collect points which ultimately can be used to claim rewards.
Ms. Lomas explains how the game will work: "On different posts and lamp posts around the area, we've installed beat boxes. What participants can do is take their cards and go between the beat boxes and tap their cards to collect points. They can run, cycle, hop, skip or jump, whatever they want to do and they'll also be helping raise money for local charities."
This comes on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic and multiple lockdowns, which have meant people stayed indoors for a long time. Ms. Lomas says, "In lockdown, families told me they enjoyed going for walks together before lockdown and they have gotten out of the habit of doing that. So through this families can go out and get fit together. The hope is that they'll enjoy this so much that they'll continue even after Beat the Street is over."
By offering various prizes, Ms. Lomas hopes that more adults will be tempted to participate. "I also think that there will be some amount of parent pester power from the kids to say come on Mum and Dad, or elder brother or sister, let's go out and do this" she adds. "Ultimately they will have fun", she says to reassure anyone hesitant to participate.
The success of the project will determine whether or not it will be scaled up to larger towns in the county. "If it is successful then we'll be happy to roll it out across the rest of the county as well. We're really keen to see how the next five weeks pan out to see how useful an initiative it is", she adds.
The end goal of the initiative is to see people in the region more active and change habits so that people choose to walk or cycle to their local store or school or workplace instead of taking the car. "I'd also really like to see Harwich become more connected", Ms Lomas says.