Beat the Street initiative set to transform Helensburgh

Beat the Street was created by English GP and Intelligent Health founder Dr William Bird and several projects have been delivered in Scotland over the last three years.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage residents of all ages and abilities to take up physical activity, earning points as they walk, cycle and run around the town by tapping a card on a series of ‘beat box’ sensors placed on lampposts.

The greater the distance travelled, the more points are earned. However, the success of the free community challenge is measured through its participation levels, rather than competitive numbers.

Projects have already proved popular in Dumfries and Galloway, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire, with more than one in three people engaging in the activities.

A further game will be introduced in Glasgow at the end of this month and it is hoped that Helensburgh will also get involved in the initiative in the near future.

Craig McGarrie, business development and partnership manager at Intelligent Health, said: “People in Helensburgh are massively enthusiastic about it. It’s a fantastic active project which they could see as being something they could get involved with.

“I’d like to issue a call to action for members of the local authority to take this on board and support the introduction of Beat the Street in Helensburgh.

“We want to engage the community on a positive experience. We want to get a meeting with members and have it as a flagship project for the local authority.

“We would hope to get it up and running within the next 12 months.”

Almost one million people have participated in Beat the Street worldwide since its launch and organisers believe it can be a catalyst for behavioural change among an inactive audience.

The game would be delivered across six weeks and Craig says the support for the movement so far is evidence of its positive impact.

He added: “We want to leave a stronger legacy than Pokémon Go. It was a great thing to get people moving but has kind of faded away.

“We’re not just targeting children and primary schools. We want to try and engage as much of the community as possible. It’s a fun and engaging game and we want people to enjoy it.

“Enthusiasm radiates within the family home. Children can recruit their siblings and parents and that’s a model we’ve found works very well.”