Free ‘bring a friend’ gym passes up for grabs
Local charitable leisure trust, Mytime Active, is proud to announce that it is offering free gym passes for Hatchford Brook Leisure Centre to Yardley residents. There will be 21 free, one-day ‘bring a friend’ gym passes available every month until September 2025.
The passes will enable Yardley to residents to participate in gym-based activity taster sessions, at no cost. Everyone who has a postcode within the Yardley constituency will be eligible. Funding for the scheme is provided by The Yardley Neighbourhood Network Scheme.
“At Hatchford Brook we offer a number of wellbeing programmes to help our local residents improve their activity levels, physical health and personal wellbeing,” says Amy Brittain, Healthy Lifestyles Programme Manager at Mytime Active. “Our Fresh Start Friendly programme is an introduction to the gym while Golf on Referral is an introduction to golf. Both sessions include a complimentary hot drink and a group healthy lifestyles session.”
All residents that visit Hatchford Brook Leisure Centre using the free passes can register to join the Mytime Active Wellbeing Hub. Members of the Hub are offered a free personal triage, to help them to identify their wellbeing goals, and a pathway into programmes such as Fresh Start Friendly and Golf on Referral, that can support their wellbeing. Mytime Active also offers free weekly wellbeing walks at Hatchford Brook and Healthy Habits – a 12-week programme – is launching in January to encourage local residents in making positive behavioural and lifestyle changes to maintain a healthier weight. A free support session will also be available with Mytime’s wellbeing advisor Megan on Wednesdays at 3pm and Fridays at 5.30pm.
“We know that inactivity is an issue across England, leading to problems including obesity, high blood pressure (hypertension), coronary heart disease and stroke,” says Brittain. “According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 32 per cent of adults in England have hypertension; 29 per cent of those are undiagnosed – that’s approximately 4.2 million adults with undiagnosed hypertension. Yardley is no exception. In fact, Yardley has a higher prevalence of hypertension than the national average. We’re hoping our free ‘bring a friend’ gym passes will encourage Yardley resident to join us and seek help to be more, which to improve risk of health conditions.”
Andrea, 59, has been taking part on the Fresh Start Friendly programme and says: “I feel really comfortable in the little community that we built during the programme. I spoke about having anxiety around exercising and the Mytime Active staff were really supportive. The course gave me the confidence I needed to take my first steps into being more active.”
Eligible postcodes are B10, B11, B12 B25, B26, B27, B28, B33, B92. For more information, register at mytimeactive.co.uk/wellbeing-hubs.
