Where’s The Gym Part II ?
In part one we revealed that the Chelmsford Muslim Society received a grant from Active Essex to provide gym equipment for worshippers at their mosque, during the 2020 Covid pandemic. Read the full article here.
Now we know the Parkway mosque is too small for a gym, so was the equipment at Hamptons ? We spoke to members who use the centre on a daily basis, and it’s not there either ! So we decided to find out the truth.
We first contacted Active Essex, who did not respond, so we raised a Freedom of Information request with Essex County Council
Our Freedom Of Information Request.
So here are the questions we asked, and the responses from Essex County Council:
1 - In relation to the community gym equipment provided to the Chelmsford Muslim Society in 2020/21, where is the equipment located?
A. Hamptons Sports and Leisure
2 - Is it open for public use?
A. In 2020 Active Essex supported the distribution of the Sport England Tackling Inequalities Fund, which funded the Chelmsford Muslim Society.
The purpose of the Sport England Tackling Inequalities Fund was to provide funding for four key target audiences whose activity levels had been identified as most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of these 4 target audiences being Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities (new title Culturally Diverse Communities).
Sport England Tackling Inequalities funding was provided in 2020 for the Chelmsford Muslim Society to specifically support elderly women from the Chelmsford Muslim community and children from the Chelmsford Muslim community to re-condition, not for all public purposes.
3- Was the grant actually equipment or money to buy equipment?
Funding provided to buy equipment and to pay for fitness instructors for a series of exercise sessions.
4 - What was the value of the grant?
£9,904
The key questions that need answering
Did any equipment ever really get purchased, and where is it ?
Does it ever get used by the elderly Muslim women and children that it was granted for ?
Why has no one from Active Essex ever followed up on the grant ?
Why are public monies being used to provide equipment at a commercial venue ?
We will be contacting Essex County Council to ask them to investigate further.
KBO