Six summer events in Hartlepool hailed as 'spectacular'

Councillors have praised the ‘spectacular’ summer events programme put on in the town and the number of activities provided.
National Play Day event - family fun day with lots of outdoor games and activities, archery, fire engine, karting, stalls, was held at Summerhill Country Park, Hartlepool.National Play Day event - family fun day with lots of outdoor games and activities, archery, fire engine, karting, stalls, was held at Summerhill Country Park, Hartlepool.
National Play Day event - family fun day with lots of outdoor games and activities, archery, fire engine, karting, stalls, was held at Summerhill Country Park, Hartlepool.

Hartlepool Borough Council bosses looked back on six summer programmes hosted in the town and what they offered residents.

They included the summer reading challenge, the free swim programme in the town, the Family Time programme, the National Play Day at Summerhill, the Big Lime Triathlon and a reminisce event at Carlton Adventure.

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Coun Sue Little, chair of adult and community based services committee, thanked officers for a ‘spectacular summer of events’ put on.

National Play Day event - family fun day with lots of outdoor games and activities, archery, fire engine, karting, stalls, was held at Summerhill Country Park, Hartlepool.National Play Day event - family fun day with lots of outdoor games and activities, archery, fire engine, karting, stalls, was held at Summerhill Country Park, Hartlepool.
National Play Day event - family fun day with lots of outdoor games and activities, archery, fire engine, karting, stalls, was held at Summerhill Country Park, Hartlepool.

The summer reading challenge was held at libraries in the town which encouraged young children from age 4 to 11 to read over the summer holidays.

It involved children reading six books over the summer, with a variety of activities on offer to support them, and in total 1,329 families and young people got involved, reading 9,898 books.

Gemma Ptak, assistant director for preventative and community based services, noted they had also seen adults get involved this year with their children.

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The free swim programme also took place again this year over the summer at Mill House Leisure Centre and over 10,000 children took part, with many using free transport to the centre put on by the council.

Ms Ptak said: “We saw some children come everyday so actually from an activity perspective having children active everyday throughout the six week holidays is really significant from a health perspective.”

‘Family Time’ was a project funded by Sports England, and was held to help improve health and wellbeing and support families, and was targeted at those in need.

In total 42 families have engaged with the project to date, taking part in sporting activities and days out, including seven families, who had never left Hartlepool together before, going on a visit to Carlton Adventure.

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The National Play Day at Summerhill, held on August 7, included 22 activities such as climbing, archery, storytelling and more, and an estimated 3,000 people attended.

Ms Ptak said: “It was a really fantastic event and it raised the profile of Summerhilll. Quite importantly we see Summerhill now, it is a real asset for Hartlepool, and we want a lot more people locally to be using that.”

Praise was also given to the success of the Big Lime Triathlon in the town in August, with 260 people engaging with the events along with 40 volunteers, and councillors called for it to be expanded even further in future.

Council officers added they are working to national qualification standards which would allow them to attract higher levels of athletes.

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Councillors on the Adult and Community Based Services Committee, who received a presentation on the activities, praised what was on offer in the town.

Coun Stephen Thomas said: “I’m very pleased to see the activities that have been happening and we’ve certainly come along way over the last few years with the range of activities and events that are available.”