Sport England has committed funding to the borough of Havant to boost levels of physical activity among those in greatest need, focusing on the most inactive communities.
Havant borough is among the 27 places set to benefit from a share of Sport England’s £250 million Place Partnership investment into the heart of communities across England. The programme is designed to tackle inactivity and inequalities by making sport, physical activity and everyday movement accessible for everyone.
Sport England research calculates that active lifestyles save £8 billion a year for the healthcare system through illness prevention. This helps reduce the burden on the NHS, preventing more than 3.3 million cases of chronic health conditions annually – including 1.3 million cases of depression, 900,000 cases of back pain and 700,000 cases of type 2 diabetes.
However, less than half of children are achieving the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for daily physical activity, and women, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and Black and Asian communities are still less likely to be active than other adults.
To tackle these persistent inequalities and break down barriers to a more active life, Sport England is taking a ‘place-based approach’ by partnering with local organisations and leaders who best understand the needs, priorities and assets within their communities.
In Havant borough, the funding will support work that:
- Bring local people and organisations together to make it easier for residents to be active every day.
- Promote the benefits of being active so more people understand how it improves health and wellbeing.
- Work with communities to understand what needs to change and learn as we go.
- Support local groups and residents to design and lead their own activities.
- Build trust by listening, being open and valuing everyone’s contributions.
- Provide activities that meet real community needs and help build confidence.
- Make sure local plans and policies reflect what residents say matters.
- Help leaders and partners build the confidence and skills to work differently and support long-term change.
- Create a shared movement across Havant that encourages and inspires people to be more active in ways that work for them.
Councillor Gillian Harris, Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Communities, said: “We are delighted that Havant borough has been selected to partner with Sport England in driving meaningful change in how our communities can access and benefit from physical activity.
"We are very proud to be working with a wide range of local partners, including Citizens Advice Solent East (Havant branch), Community First, Energise Me, Growing Places, Hampshire Public Health, Havant and East Hants Mind, Havant and Waterlooville Primary Care Network, Hayling and Emsworth Primary Care Network, Horizon Leisure Trust, Motiv8, Park Community School, Recapture Life, St Francis Church, The Acorn Centre and The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre. We are all committed to empowering local people to lead change, tackle physical inactivity and improve health outcomes through a system that builds resilience and trust.
“This work builds on the extensive engagement we carried out while developing our Active Wellbeing Strategy, which helped us hear directly from residents about the barriers they face to being active, whether that’s affordability, confidence, time, access or feeling that activities ‘aren’t for them’. By continuing to listen and work alongside our communities, we can co-design real solutions that support people in making movement part of everyday life.
“Through this partnership we will strengthen local relationships, invest in the ideas that residents want to see, and deliver a longer-term shift in how physical activity is understood and supported across our borough, building healthier, happier and more connected neighbourhoods for the future.”
Find out more information and read the frequently asked questions regarding the programme.