Community Development - Sport, Leisure and the Arts Involvement in leisure, sporting and arts activities has long been recognised as an effective way of engaging people, building confidence and a sense of community, as well as developing leaders through coaching and volunteering, of which there are many examples in Castle Vale. By encouraging all sections of the community to participate in and enjoy arts and leisure activities, pride and self-esteem has been generated in the community, contributing strongly to the process of regeneration. Examples of initiatives: Art in Castle Vale Sainsbury's Public Art piece in place at the new shopping centre     Knight of the Vale     Painting by Castle Vale resident, Paul Hill With an ambitious arts strategy in place, including an exciting ArtSite programme bringing international artists (including Opera) to Castle Vale, the area now enjoys an unprecedented interest and participation in the arts. This is starting to impact positively on the new image of Castle Vale. The Arts strategy also includes an Artist in Residence scheme, which has led to 5 public art pieces and instalment of the 'Sentinel' sculpture (the Spitfire Project) - a major gateway feature and premiere public art pieces in Birmingham (launched 14 November 2000).   'Sentinel - spitfire sculpture launched on 14 November 2000 by Alex Henshaw, MBE. Community Radio – Vale fm Vale FM As a resident inspired idea, Vale fm has received HAT support from the start. It was initially set up in 1996 as a pilot project and, since then, has gone from strength to strength. It is now virtually self-supporting and runs from a state–of-the-art base in one of only two refurbished blocks (out of 34) that now remain. Vale fm runs Broadcast training programmes and provides a valuable resource to the community. Please visit www.cvcr.co.uk.