Cheltenham Let's Get a Good Thing Going

Across the UK, there are many people who would love to do something

they think will enhance their community.

Let's not leave the beach as we found it.

Let's leave it a little nicer.

But what they are lacking is the money

to get their bright ideas off the ground.

My project needs your vote!

We're giving individuals the chance to kick-start their venture

with donations from their own communities.

Brilliant, come on in them! Come on!

But to win that pot and to make dreams a reality,

they first need to win over an audience of locals,

who will be voting for their favourite idea.

Is it going to be open for 24 hours a day?

Would this be sort of an annual event?

What are your running costs likely to be?

All across the country, there are local heroes,

prepared to go the extra mile

to make our communities better places to live.

It's a very... Sorry.

Unusual for me. Very emotional.

They just need a helping hand to get their ideas up and running.

The champion who you have voted for is...

Welcome to the Regency spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.

It's the gateway to the Cotswolds and, it's fair to say,

one of the prettiest towns in the UK.

The stunning architecture alone is enough of a reason to visit.

And, since its spa waters were discovered in the mid-18th century,

Cheltenham was placed firmly on the tourist map.

But Cheltenham has two faces and, like most towns in the UK,

there are areas that are struggling.

St Mark's and Hesters Way, home to over 3,000 households,

are amongst the most deprived in Britain,

and local community groups are doing their bit to support their needs.

Tourists still come from all over the world,

not so much for the spa water now,

but for the world-renowned jazz, literary and music festivals

that leave this city buzzing.

But for most of us, when you say Cheltenham,

you just think of one thing - horse racing.

The Gold Cup is the peak of the jump racing season and in March,

these stands are full with tens of thousands of racegoers,

hoping their horse will come in first. It's our base for today.

The odds are one in four for our community champions,

so there's only one thing left to say - we're under starter's orders.

The four locals hoping to make their dreams come true

are passionate gardener Chris,

who has theatrical hopes for his unique venue.

-Was that last minute prep there going on?

-Yeah, it really was.

It was, yes. But I'm not go to show you.

How are you feeling before you go on?

What I'm committing to doing is very special to me

so, yeah, I've got to try and get it right.

Also pitching today is Lizzie,

who says the best way to unite a community is through food.

How many times have you been practising your pitch?

-Not enough, I don't think.

-No?

-No.

-Are you a bit nervous?

I've gone past nervous. I'm now delirious.

Powerchair football fans Brian and Harry want all abilities

to get involved.

-Have you done any speaking in public before?

-Not to this extent.

-Ooh...

Not to this extent. Very minimal.

A face for radio, not for pitching normally.

And professor Michelle wants to turn our unwanted clothes

into designer items.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling good, yeah.

I'm really looking forward to talking to everybody, yeah,

and talking about my project. I'm really passionate about it.

Well, I'll let you finish.

I don't want to take up too much of your time.

-I just wanted to say good luck and see you later.

-Thank you so much.

Each of the four community champions have an idea

that could really help their local area

but to get the money that could make it happen for real,

first they need to win over their community.

It's that time. Shall I open the door or not? I'd better.

Hello, hello.

We are open for business. Come on in. Nice to see you.

You all right? Hi, nice to see you. Hello, hello, hello.

Local people have been invited

to hear what our community champions have to say

and will later vote for their favourite pitch.

As they come in, they can make a cash donation

towards the community fund.

Hello, Cheltenham. Good day, Cheltenham.

Got it! Clipboard. Thank you very much indeed.

Check, check, check. It's showtime. We're off.

Hello!

-Hello, Cheltenham! AUDIENCE:

-Hello!

Thank you for coming out to support the local area.

Thank you for coming together to see four special people.

I'd like to call them People's Champions.

Now, the champions will be coming out here

and they will be pitching to you their personal passion -

an idea that they think will benefit the community most.

All you have to do is pick your favourite,

vote and then the winner that gets the most votes will take home

the money which you have kindly contributed to.

Let's start with our first pitch.

Now, this is from a Cheltenham local

who believes that gardening and theatre should go hand-in-hand.

-Please welcome Chris Evans.

-Here goes.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Good luck, Chris.

-Thank you.

-Hello.

-AUDIENCE:

-Hi.

My name is Chris Evans and I'm here to represent

a project known as the Butterfly Garden.

Chris Evans has gardening in his DNA.

He took over the running of his grandfather's nursery

and garden centre on the outskirts of Cheltenham 25 years ago.

From my first moment in this paradise,

which is a rural setting on the edge of Cheltenham,

I was mesmerised by everything natural.

I have, over time, developed a close connection, an intimacy with it.

Chris quickly realised the therapeutic effects

of working with plants and nature and turned the garden into a charity

which offers educational, therapeutic

and recreational projects

for children and adults with disabilities of any kind.

People were turning up day after day and, today, I have 243 students.

Thankfully they don't all come in one go, but most days,

I will expect to see between 40 and 60 people on the site.

What was a fairly ordinary garden centre 15 years ago

is now an extraordinary place of learning.

What Chris developed here

is an area where people, whatever they're involved in,

it's not about gardening per se,

it's not about working in a workshop, it's just creating

an atmosphere and an environment where people thrive and excel.

Chris is an ideas man.

He's just had this fantastic ability to have an idea and then,

within a very short space of time, make things happen and make it work.

The garden now covers six acres

and is a mixture of plots, greenhouses and classrooms.

As the project became more diverse, we started to explore the arts

and suddenly a drama group had formed

and then the logical extension of that was the need

for a performance space, and so we created an amphitheatre,

a space that's used by all sorts of groups on this site -

by our puppeteers, by our musicians, by our drama group.

It's a space that's used by other organisations.

What's your name?

To maximise the amphitheatre's potential,

he needs sound and lighting equipment.

Currently, it can only be used in daylight hours

but Chris hasn't got the funds to develop the stage's full potential.

Sometimes there is a gesture that requires a sound

or requires a flash or requires a light,

and all of those things we're not able to offer.

The electrical work needs professional installation

and, without new funds, this cannot happen.

Chris's dreams of a new professional theatre venture

for the whole community simply won't happen.

I need the money for the power. We've got to turn our lights on.

We want to switch on this project. We want to move it forward a notch.

Somebody said, "Why do you do all of this?"

I want to liberate the mind.

In all of us, there is something that needs to be out there.

In all of us, there is something that is magical,

that we can bring to the table.

We should all be encouraged to believe it's there.

It is colour, it is life. And the power is at the heart of it.

When I came and said I was coming for the presentation,

they said to me, "You can bring gadgets and you can bring gizmos

"and you can dress up or you can just wave your arms about."

So, I took a bet, and I'm going to excuse myself for a second.

This is all about...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This is all about the belief

that we are all entitled to a colourful life.

I ask all of you, at the end of this evening,

to consider voting for me to switch on the light for somebody else.

I need power on my stage

so that the place will be more magical

than it is currently. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

For his outside theatre power upgrade,

Chris needs £300 for electrical cable installation,

£100 for basic lighting and £50

to purchase a new sound system.

-All right?

-Good, thank you.

-How did that go?

-Yeah, it was good. It was good.

I like a colourful journey.

We'll open the floor now, Chris, and take a couple of questions.

Who's got a question for Chris, please?

Gentleman in the green sweater.

Hi, Chris. Great pitch. What are your running costs likely to be?

The running costs are not going to be horrendous.

We're not talking about an event that's going to be running

day after day after day,

so it'll cross a long period of time and we'll put on shows.

My expectation is that, probably, in a calendar year, 10 or 12 shows.

But what appeals to me more is the access to the resource

for the three people that want to do it.

Somebody said to me, "What about the weather?"

If I have three students who want to perform something

and I have ten students who want to watch it,

I want to be able to do that.

There will be running costs but I'm comfortable that we'll meet them

with a revenue from the people that visit.

A round of applause, please, for Chris Evans. Chris.

American research into the benefits of performance art

for disabled adults suggests increased cognitive growth

and greater engagement within the community.

I can understand people having questions about the running costs

and I can understand people having concerns

and I can understand them having concerns about longevity,

in terms of weather, but that isn't how we work.

Next, we're talking sport.

Not any old sport - powerchair sport.

Now, for anybody that doesn't know what that is,

when you hear the next pitch, this gentleman is determined

that you will certainly know what it's about.

Please welcome Brian Dix.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Good luck, Brian.

-Thank you very much.

Hi, everybody. My name is Brian Dix

and I work for a company called Goals Beyond Grass.

GBG are a charity that specialise in looking after disabled people

in the sport of powerchair football.

Basically, what we do, we take any disabled person,

no matter what they've got wrong with them,

we bring them down to a sports hall, we put them in a chair

and we let them express themselves in our lovely game of football.

As a lad, Brian Dix always wanted to be a professional footballer.

But when he was turned down by his local club at Bristol,

his career took a very different path,

when he signed up for the Royal Navy.

I'd just joined the Royal Yacht Britannia,

which was one of the highlights of my life so far.

Normally, when you join the Navy,

you spend time marching around and doing parade shows,

but I missed all my basic training

and went straight to play football for the Navy, so love the sport.

-Could always have a quick game of murder ball.

-Yeah?

Get them going, those reflexes.

He left the Royal Navy in 1990

but his passion for all sports continues,

in particular, the relatively new sport of powerchair football,

which enables disabled players to play the sport

in an adapted electric wheelchair.

Yay!

When people ask me why am I involved in chair football,

you've only got to look over my shoulder

and see why I'm so passionate about it.

It's their only chance they can excel and express themselves

in a sport that there is no other way for them to do it.

Whether they've got a disability in speech, a disability in walking,

they can express themselves to the full, playing powerchair football.

Brian set up the charity Goals Beyond Grass in 2016,

with the aim of encouraging all abilities to take part

in social and physical activity, using powerchairs.

They now have five teams in the Southwest,

plus he has a member of the 2007 England powerchair squad

signed up to pass on his expertise.

About three or four years ago,

Brian asked me if I would pass on my knowledge

and help promote the sport in the area.

Keep going, Gem, keep going!

What we found, talking to carers and parents, is that,

when the players come back, their coordination improves,

their strength improves but, more than that,

they're included in something.

Yes! Yes! Great skills.

Brian wants to spread the message to a much wider local audience,

by offering free taster sessions for competitors of all abilities.

But the cost of hiring the indoor courts is £100

for a three-hour session and he simply doesn't have the cash

to start this new initiative.

Our pitch is very simple.

We want to put on five sessions, open sessions,

free to anybody to come along, try the sport,

see if they look like it, able-bodied and disabled

and, hopefully, they'll continue to be part of it.

The social side, you can't we put a price on that.

These guys coming together,

having a laugh, constant banter and enjoying ourselves.

That's what we're looking to do - get a bit more community spirit,

get everybody enjoying it.

What I've got with me today is a guy called Harry Shenton.

Harry is a player who's been playing powerchair football

since, oh, about 15 years now.

Harry's going to give you an insight

of how it's like being disabled and what sport means to him.

So, let me introduce you to Harry Shenton.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Hi, everyone.

-AUDIENCE:

-Hi.

Powerchair football is my sporting life.

I was born with cerebral palsy which, put simply, means

I can't jump out of this chair and run round a normal football pitch,

like most of you could if you wanted to.

Powerchair football enables us disabled people

to play a competitive sport on equal terms,

on an indoor basketball court,

using specialist sport powerchairs,

like the chair I'm currently sitting in.

Powerchair football is enabling disabled people

to take part in a fun, competitive sport...

..which has a pathway to international status.

And that level is my goal.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Harry, thank you very much.

In the audience tonight, we've got young Gemma.

Gemma's been playing football for three years.

APPLAUSE

Gemma's the reason that I keep going

and a lot of my team and players and friends are also involved.

What we want to do is the taster sessions we want to put on,

with your help, is get more people involved on a day-to-day level,

whether it's playing football, coaching, whatever you want to do.

It's a very... Sorry.

It's all right. Listen, that's what the heart does for you.

You want to speak from the heart. It's all right.

We're all friends here, don't worry. Don't worry.

-WHISPERS:

-They'll use it against me.

LAUGHTER

No, they won't. No, they won't.

-I'm here for you, mate. Go on.

-Cheers, mate. OK.

So, as you can see, it's quite an emotional sport.

But with your help, to get more people involved,

for every £100 we get, we can put on one big session.

And with that session, we might get

two or three people like Gemma come through,

and the dad who's now a coach who helps as well.

Altogether, with the community,

it makes a brilliant difference to everybody.

APPLAUSE

For his powerchair football open sessions,

Brian needs £100 for each three-hour venue hire.

I feel like I don't want to throw you out there to the lions

with the questions, but I've got to do it, Brian.

And I'm sure there's lots of people as well that have got

lots of thoughts going through their mind.

Who would like to start off with the first question for Brian, please?

-Hi, Brian.

-Hi.

-Is this sport just for disabled participants?

-No, no.

Anybody can come down and join in. We want everybody to try it.

The reason it makes it so special is because

say, if yourself came down and got in a chair,

you're on the same level playing field.

And that's what's beautiful about this game.

It's all one level, disabled or not.

Thank you for your question. Another question for Brian, please.

Gentleman with the check shirt. What's your question, please?

Brian, it's a great idea and I can't imagine it not being a success.

But what are you going to do if too many people sign up?

We would love that to happen. We would love that to happen.

Basically, at the moment, when we play our games,

our home game is based in Taunton, Plymouth or Exeter.

That's our home games.

So, we have to get everybody on the coach or in their cars

and travel all the way down there.

What we'd love to do is have enough people to build

our own Gloucestershire league, so that these guys can play local,

and that's what our dream would be.

Round of applause, please, for Brian Dix. Brian.

Only 17% of disabled adults play sport once a week,

compared to 36% of able-bodied adults.

But, in a recent survey of wheelchair users,

74% said they would like to be more involved in sport.

Unusual for me. Very emotional.

I look out in the audience and there is little Gemma in her chair

and, because the effect that she has playing football,

it's very emotional for me still now, it's crazy.

-Right, quick question. Anybody hungry? AUDIENCE:

-Yes!

I wasn't expecting THAT!

Well, I'm sure you'll take a lot of interest in our next pitch,

because our next pitch believes

that the way to get through to communities and bring them together

is through food,

-so please welcome Lizzie George.

-Here we go.

CHEERING

-Hello. Thank you.

-Good luck, Lizzie.

-Thank you.

Hi, hi. I'm Lizzie George

and I've lived and worked in Cheltenham West

for the last 12 years.

I work at Create On The Square,

which was a disused retail unit,

but which now is a vibrant hub at the centre of the community,

where people come to work, rest and play.

Business development officer and mother of six Lizzie George

has three passions in her life - her family, Cheltenham and food.

My passion for cooking came about cooking for my family,

so I would make big stews and big roast dinners

and I've got a Welsh background,

so I used to like roast lamb and mint sauce.

And I love baking and I'd bake big tray bakes.

Thanks very much.

She lives and works in Cheltenham West,

which isn't normally on the tourists' maps.

This part of town has high unemployment

and a need for better housing,

but Lizzie wants to see the area thrive

and is proud to sing its praises.

I love living here.

I love the community side, the friendships,

just the energy to be part of something.

Lizzie created a community space for locals 18 months ago.

Some people come here and set up their own businesses,

other people come here just for a pot of tea and a conversation.

One local businessman credits Lizzie

with helping him get his vegan burger business off the ground.

Lizzie is brilliant.

I think, when I came here and I was launching the business,

she gave me loads of advice and she's been able to help me

propel the business forward.

Now Lizzie wants to expand on the success of her current projects,

by getting more of the local community together

with a new series of multicultural food evenings.

Loads of people live here

and loads of different cultures have moved into the area

and it's really important to be able to appreciate

and value what someone else is bringing to our community

and we do that by food.

I'm not only excited to teach Indian food

but I'm very excited to learn

other countries' food also,

like African, Polish, Greek, Spanish.

I'll be really excited to find out

how to cook Indian, authentic Indian food,

and to see how they combine all these different kind of spices.

So, these are little tea lights?

If we were successful with this pitch,

we would offer cook and share and learn workshops,

so it's all about cooking,

it's all about sharing your food and your culture,

and people would be able to learn

and be able to do those recipes at home.

But the existing resources are sparse

and, as this is a new project, funds are needed to make it happen,

starting with basic kitchen equipment.

So, your vote will kick-start a series of four cooking workshops

for the community, bringing people together.

So, if we were lucky enough to win tonight,

£200 would buy us an oven.

250, we could just add a tabletop electric ring to cook things on.

£300, we could add a food processor.

So, I'm not a professional cook, my middle name is not Mary Berry,

but I have friends who can cook.

Please welcome my friends, Hema and Viva.

CHEERING

Really good, really good.

Hello, I'm Hema Bongirwan.

I have brought cornflakes mix.

It's based on an Indian traditional recipe.

Hello, everyone. I'm Viva Andrada O'Flynn.

I've made these lovely cupcakes.

They're chocolate-vanilla flavoured, with cinnamon and ginger.

It's a festival of flavours.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And for the vegans amongst you, I've made some vegan shortbread.

I'm not trying to sway the vote but, boy, can these ladies cook!

So, this project is important for my community

because Cheltenham West has been seen as the poor relation

to the posh Regency spa town.

It's one of the most deprived areas in the UK.

We've got unemployment, lack of training opportunities.

But our community is now a multicultural community

and this should be celebrated with pride.

Imagine what we could achieve, all of us together,

because we came together to share, learn, eat together.

Thank you.

CHEERING

For her communal cooking nights,

Lizzie needs £200 for a new worktop oven,

£50 for an electric tabletop ring

and £100 for a food processor.

-You all right?

-No!

-Well done.

Let's open the floor for some questions for Lizzie.

Who's got the first question? Young lady there, please.

You mentioned, already, a number of nationalities,

but how many nationalities would you have, in any given session, cooking?

Well, we would have one nationality doing the sharing at the time,

but we can have up to four teams of participants,

so we could have any number of people all coming together to cook.

Thanks for your question. Another question. The lady in front.

Can people just come along and learn how to cook

if they haven't got the money to pay for a course?

Just for those under-privileged people, can they learn some skills?

Yes. So, for the purpose of this project,

-all our workshops are going to be free.

-Lizzie has spoken.

Thanks for your question. Lizzie George, everybody.

-Lovely.

-Thank you.

Well done, well done.

Yes, I'm so glad that's over.

Hands up who's got an outfit in the back of their wardrobe

or in the front that they never wear?

Anybody? Come on, you've all got an item of clothing

where you've gone, "I never wear that."

And your partner or your loved one says, "Well, throw it out."

And you say, "I might just need it.

"There might be one day where I just might need it."

My wedding dress.

Your wedding dress! LAUGHTER

Yeah, that's true, that's true.

You might want to take notice of our next pitch

because the next lady, Michelle, wants to take your unloved clothes

and turn them into designer pieces.

And the best bit is she wants to help the community in the process.

So, please welcome Michelle Williams.

APPLAUSE

-Good luck, Michelle.

-Hello.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle Williams

from the University of Gloucestershire

and I'm the course leader of the product design degree there.

Product design lecturer Michelle Williams is a big fan

of making and mending.

I started making clothes with my mother

when I was really, really young

and really enjoyed designing and making from a very young age.

I like beautiful colours and flamboyant clothes

but I don't like to spend a lot of money and I really hate the waste.

But I really like textiles, I really like clothes,

and I like to modify them.

So, this is one of my favourites.

This is quite special to me. This is my wedding dress.

I bought it at a charity shop for £35.

What I did, with one of my very good friends, we modified it,

just to make it a little bit smaller and more fitting for me.

But it's not just Michelle who is a huge fan

of the make-do-and-mend attitude.

Once a month, in St Andrew's Church, in Cheltenham,

a Repair Cafe is held where local community members are invited

to bring their broken household items and clothes along

to be fixed for free.

Ta-da!

We're trying to empower people, trying to encourage them

to repair their goods themselves, so we repair it with them

and prevent all those electrical items

and all those clothes going into landfill.

With a repair like that, you either make a feature of it

or you try and hide it, so it looks invisible.

The attitude we seem to have these days is,

"I can't be bothered. I'll buy new one."

And it's so cheap and easy to buy,

not necessarily the best quality new one,

but it's easier than sitting and...

Apparently, it's easier than sitting and sewing a button on.

Hi, I've brought in a couple of items.

They don't fit me any more

but I was hoping we could maybe create something for my daughter.

OK, so we've got a velvet skirt.

The benefits of the Repair Cafe are we accept

that not everyone has those skills and equipment

so, by providing a place like this,

then it's a very useful community vehicle for them to come.

Let's have a look at it. Let's have a look at the back.

Oh, that's beautiful! Look, you've got denim...

Building on the success of the Repair Cafe,

Michelle plans to pitch a new project that would join together

the skills of local fashion students and the volunteer seamstresses.

What we're going to do is create these wonderful workshops,

where we can use all these textiles, all these clothes

that have been, could be thrown away in landfill,

and we're going to start helping people

to design and make their own clothes.

-I helped design it.

-You helped design it!

So, we've got a future designer-maker. That's great.

Michelle hopes the new project will enable the community

to exchange skills, build confidence and reduce textile waste.

But there's one thing missing.

At the moment, we're lacking the general equipment

to make these clothes,

so we need some sewing machines, we need some zips,

we need some cotton, we need some buttons,

so that we can create these wonderful repurposed clothes

with our community.

I don't know if you realise,

but about 1.1 million tonnes of clothes are purchased

each year in the UK.

But, unfortunately, 800,000 tonnes of waste is going into landfill.

So, what I'd like to do with these group of people,

that I've already created the Repair Cafe with,

is create some designer-maker workshops with the community.

We want to share those skills,

that the retired people and the volunteers already know,

with the younger people and possibly people that don't realise

that they're really, really talented.

So, what I've done today, I've brought some beautiful clothes

that have been made by some of my students.

This is a skirt, would you believe.

It's absolutely beautiful. It can be worn as a skirt, but also as a top.

So, if you vote for me, we'll be able to buy,

with £350, one sewing machine.

But if we have £700, we can have two sewing machines

and then, maybe a little bit more, we can have some accessories

and to help people of Cheltenham

and the whole of Gloucestershire get together and learn these new skills

and prevent all these waste materials going to landfill.

APPLAUSE

For her sewing repair project,

Michelle needs £350 for an industrial sewing machine

and £48 for accessories.

APPLAUSE

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-We're going to open the floor now for some questions.

-Great.

Who's got a first question for Michelle, please?

Gentleman right at the back there, yes.

-I'd just like to ask, is there a charge for this?

-No, no, it's free.

We just want people to come in and share skills and learn new skills

to create beautiful clothes for themselves and maybe their family,

and prevent all this from going to waste.

Another question for Michelle, please. Gentleman in the middle.

Hi, Michelle. How many outfits could you upcycle in a month?

It does depend on what you want to make.

If you wanted to make a whole suit,

then it would obviously take a little bit longer.

-Something like this took about an hour.

-Wow.

But the little girl was involved. She made it, she designed it,

and that gives it a lot of value.

So, she wants to keep this forever

and that's what we want to do - add value to waste.

Are we happy to let Michelle off the hook now, do you think? Yeah?

A round of applause for Michelle Williams, please.

On average, we wear only 70% of the clothes in our wardrobes,

which totals a massive 1.7 billion unused items in the UK alone.

I hope it went well. Some really good questions, actually.

I think people were interested in what I had to say.

That's it. Our four People's Champions are now backstage

and I think, if I'm honest, probably relieved

they don't have to answer any more questions.

Now, I'm going to hand the power over to you shortly

because it will be then down to you to pick your favourite and vote.

Which project is going to benefit the Cheltenham community the most?

Let's recap.

Today, we've heard from Chris...

CHEERING

I haven't finished yet.

..and his plans for an access-to-all all-year theatre.

Now, yes. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Brian and Harry's plans to get us all, whatever our abilities,

to play powerchair sports.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Lizzie's home cooking evenings to celebrate the diverse

and talented make-up of her community.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Michelle, who wants to cross the generation divide

and tap into sewing and mending skills

in upcycling unwanted clothes.

Yeah. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You know, I'm sure you'll agree, what an amazing group

of community champions we've got, but who will win?

Who's going to get the votes?

Which project is going to get up off the ground? It's time to vote.

CHEERING

Everyone voting today has contributed towards a fund

which totals £527.

Voting has started. Again, difficult to call.

What a variety today.

Food, sport, access to the community,

redesigning clothes and then, in between, all of that,

Brian, with all of the emotion.

And he had us all going. Tough one today.

Really, really good pitches. Really diverse types of ideas.

I thought all the pitches were good so, yeah, it's tough competition.

Chris's project, excellent.

I especially love the powerchair football.

You could really understand what these players go through.

I really, really like the powerchair football and the cookery.

Those two were my favourite.

It's going to be really difficult to decide.

There's some really worthy causes.

Yes, thank you.

Well, that is it.

It is time to reveal who has crossed the winning line

at Cheltenham today.

But first, please welcome back our People's Champions.

Chris, have a seat there.

Michelle.

Brian.

Lizzie. Have a seat there.

What a really tough call it is today.

Four original projects, four fantastic ideas.

But the votes have been counted and verified.

The champion who you have voted for is...

..Brian and powerchair sports.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well done, well done!

Congratulations, that's brilliant.

-Bring it in, big man, bring it in. Well done.

-Thank you.

-How do you feel?

-Great, fantastic!

Anything you'd like to say to the community of Cheltenham?

Yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you.

That means, to me, that we can put on five brand-new sessions...

..where, um, everybody, everybody's invited to come down,

join in, have a go and enjoy yourself.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done, mate, well done.

APPLAUSE

I thought there were a lot of strong contenders,

not just ourselves,

but I think the other pitchers put themselves forward brilliantly,

-so well done to them as well.

-Yes.

-MICHELLE:

-I'm really pleased for Brian that won.

I thought it was a brilliant project

and the good outcome of this event

is that we're all going to collaborate and work together.

-CHRIS:

-The doorman said to me, "I'm a commercial artist,

"I wondered if I might come down and be a volunteer.

"I could bring some art to your place and we could bring it alive

"with new art installations," so, yeah, lots of bonuses to the trip.

Two guys came up to me and said, "Have you got a card?"

Being someone who runs a charity, of course I've got a card.

I gave them my card and he said to me, "How much do the chairs cost?"

I said, "They cost about £5,500."

He said, "I'll give you a ring on Monday morning

"and we'll talk about making sure you get a new chair."

Get in! Brilliant!

Michelle has got together with our youth worker

and they're looking at a project together, so it's all good.

It's all connections made.

Wow, that was great. What a brilliant line-up!

I'm made up for Brian as well.

That project is going to be brilliant

and he nearly had me going again, welling up.

And you know what was really interesting is that the audience

were offering help of support to the other pitches as well

so I genuinely believe that everybody's won today.

Get in!

Four weeks on and it's the morning

of the first powerchair football open session.

Brian is hoping for a big turnout.

We're very lucky. We walked away with just over £500.

The cross-section of people who are saying they're going to turn up

are from the severely disabled to adults with learning difficulties

to able-bodied groups to sports groups.

They've all expressed an interest in what we've done.

If half the people turn up who've shown interest, expressed interest,

then, to us, it would be amazing.

The players at the end all play in our local teams,

whether it's Cheltenham Allstars...

One of the first through the door is Lizzie George.

I wanted to support Brian

and I just wanted to see what it was all about.

Come down on the chair. That's it.

-This is solid, so you can stand on this and move yourself round.

-OK.

-Forwards, backwards, left and right.

-OK.

-Speed.

-Oh, very slow for me.

-We'll keep it slow to start with.

When we're ready to go, all you need to do

-is to slowly push it forward.

-OK.

Oh!

I didn't feel really in control

because the powerchair is so responsive.

-Oh!

-Not much difference.

It feels really good and I'm itching to get back to it.

-Keep going there.

-Oh!

For the regular players and their families,

they know all too well the importance of the sport.

I think today's session has been really important for us

because we can all take part and join in.

Charlie is a twin with Poppy and Poppy's an able person

and Charlie is disabled so, for them to come together

and play together, I think is excellent.

Before we came along, we didn't realise

that there were these sports available for Charlie

to be able to actually use and access.

Because, like all five-year-olds, he wants to play football.

So, to be able to be involved in this and play as a team

and have that team spirit

and feel he's involved in the community, has been really good.

Students from the local college came to try out the sport too.

This is the first time I've been a powerchair.

I've never done anything like this before.

I'm so excited.

I can't wait. It's going to be so cool.

OK, ladies, it's very simple.

All I want you to do, very slowly press it forward.

Ooh, slowly.

It is really challenging, difficult to grasp to start off with.

Some of the members of the public focus on chair skills,

whilst others just get stuck into the game.

John's been playing for three years,

so what does he think of the incomers?

I found it very entertaining to see how bad they were.

Well, good or bad, everyone seems to be enjoying the session.

I love coming here cos the atmosphere is really nice

and when you're playing,

you just don't feel like your condition exists any more.

John's mum, Angela, thinks these open free sessions are vital.

Today, he's playing with girls his age who aren't disabled

and they're realising that he's just the same as them

and they're just getting together and playing football,

which is what we need to happen.

Coach and player Harry has been working hard

to explain to the newcomers what the sport is all about.

From what I've seen today and what I've been part of,

it seems to have been a roaring success.

It's lovely to see so many smiling faces.

And what about the runners-up? How are they faring?

Chris Evans wanted funds to get electricity to his amphitheatre.

A local electrician heard about it

and has donated underground piping and cables,

so he's halfway there to getting the lights turned on.

Michelle wanted funds to get professional sewing equipment

to upcycle unwanted clothes and, while she didn't get the money,

she's currently applying for a grant

for all the equipment she needs and she's feeling hopeful.

Plus Chris has offered her workshop space at the Butterfly Garden.

And Lizzie wanted funds to get basic cooking equipment

for her multicultural evenings.

So many exciting things have happened.

We've been able to source a tabletop oven.

Somebody was in the audience supporting Michelle

and he came up to me at the end and said that they could get

a tabletop oven for us, so that was awesome.

Hema's had her first Indian cooking event and that was brilliant

because she taught us how to cook traditional Indian food.

We have been so inspired by the programme

that we're going to do Cheltenham West Let's Get A Good Thing Going.

So, thanks to the amazing community spirit in Cheltenham,

it seems that all four projects are going to happen.

Oh, and remember that promise of a brand-new powerchair

from members of the audience to Brian? Well, guess what.

The money has come through, all £5,500 of it.

A brand-new chair is on its way.

When people from the community support you,

it just means you've got your peers and your friends

and family also supporting you, it just means that you are doing

something right and, yeah, extremely proud.