Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, NHS Lincolnshire and Active Nation have been working with the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) to improve and increase the provision of inclusive fitness, sports and physical activity opportunities for disabled people in Lincolnshire.

The exciting project is the largest county-based disability inclusion project in the UK and has increased from three inclusive fitness facilities in Lincolnshire to 18 and an additional specialist toilet which meets Changing Places requirements.

There are currently 39 Inclusive Fitness Facilities in the East Midlands, with 18 of those in Lincolnshire.

The project has ensured that everyone in Lincolnshire is approximately 30 minutes away from a fully inclusive fitness facility and no-one has felt the benefits more than LEAP Level 4 Athlete Richard Sargent.

Richard was accepted on to the Lincolnshire Elite Athlete Programme (LEAP) this year and is competing at an international level in wheelchair basketball. He is currently a member of the Great Britain Under 23's squad.

Richard says that the Inclusive Fitness project across Lincolnshire has changed his life: "Last year, I spent £5,000 on training including £3,000 on travelling to Nottingham; which was the nearest fully inclusive site with facilities for wheelchair basketball to me.

"Last year, I had to take my brother to training with me; he would help me change and work out. Having fully inclusive sites in Lincolnshire now means I can be more independent and not have to rely on my brother, or anyone else to take me to training."

In conjunction with this project for the county, disabled people have benefited from additional investment from the Short Breaks Programme, seeing a Changing Places toilet installed into eight of the additional 15 inclusive fitness facilities, providing further opportunities for disabled people who have more complex health needs.

The launch of these 15 inclusive fitness facilities in Lincolnshire is an enormous achievement for disability sport and physical activity in Lincolnshire.

Gillian Merron MP passed on her congratulations to the team and all the partners involved in making this possible. She provided the following statement as Minister of Health: "This is the first time in the history of the Inclusive Fitness Industry that health, sport and fitness sectors have come together to deliver a county-wide project for disabled people."