On 1 July, £400,000 of new health and fitness facilities will officially open to the public at the Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire YMCA.

Created to specifically target young people in the area, the new facilities will include an astroturf football pitch, a fully equipped indoor sports hall, a cricket practice area, a gym and a boxing ring, complete with a full range of boxing equipment.

There will also be activities and facilities for disabled groups, including indoor bowling, archery and goal ball plus equipment for the blind and a hearing loop to help support the deaf and hearing impaired.

The new facilities are part of YMCA Activate England, a national, three-year project funded by the Big Lottery Fund and Sport England which aims to widen access and increase participation for more than 24,000 people who would not normally take exercise.

The project is a partnership between YMCA England and YMCA Fitness Industry Training and is operated through a network of 54 YMCAs based in local communities throughout England.

Alison Sleet, YMCA England development advisor for sport, health, exercise and fitness, said: “We believe physical activity should be fun and help bring communities together. YMCAs provide vital services for the communities in which they operate.

“These new facilities demonstrate some of YMCA Activate England’s key aims – making exercise available to all and encouraging people to make being active a part of their daily lives.”

Acting CEO of Sport England Stephen Baddeley, added: “The Active England programme is all about innovative and inspiring ways of making the nation more active. The YMCA Activate England project and this new fitness facility are great examples of such innovation and of motivating whole communities.” Details: www.ymca.org.uk