- 53 new Places across England announced to tackle inequalities in activity levels
- Ipswich set to benefit.
- Each new place is in the top 10% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality.
Active Suffolk and their collaborative partners are today celebrating following Sport England’s announcement that Ipswich has been named among the 53 places set to benefit from a share of Sport England’s £250million investment into the heart of communities across England, designed so that those in greatest need are able to be physically active.
Sport England research calculates that active lifestyles save £10.5 billion a year for the health and social care system. This relieves some of the NHS burden, preventing 1.3 million cases of depression, 600,000 of diabetes and 57,000 of dementia (the UK’s leading cause of death) annually. Less than half of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for daily physical activity and women, people from lower socio-economic groups and Black and Asian people are still less likely to be active than other adults.
The Place-based working approach, developed by Sport England encompasses the absolute best of partnership working, collaboration and co-production, to deliver positive impacts against four main target areas; increasing physical activity, decreasing physical inactivity, tackling inequalities that prevent people from being able to get active and providing positive experiences for children and young people.
As the Active Partnership for Suffolk, we are incredibly excited to be able to bring this unique opportunity to the communities of Ipswich as we know that for many, this will be a brand-new approach to the way that we work together. Adopting this Place-based focus, we will be working together from the ground up and responding to the acute needs of our local communities.
In Ipswich, we are fortunate that many organisations already work extremely hard to understand and tackle the inequalities that users of their services face when trying to access physical activity and sport. This Place-based focus will allow Active Suffolk to work alongside them – to gain a better understanding of how we can continue to collaborate to remove barriers to physical activity. Enabling our people and communities to get moving and enjoy the benefits that being physically active can bring.
Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Sport England’s Executive Director for Place, said:
“We are proud to announce our partnerships with 53 new places in every corner of the country today. We know that where someone lives plays a huge part in how active, or not, they will be. Through our Place Expansion programme we will work with local partners and communities to break down the barriers to physical activity so that everyone has equal access to a more active life. We are excited to see what we can achieve together in Ipswich.”
Gareth Davies, Director of Active Suffolk said:
“We are delighted that Ipswich has been included in Sport England’s Phase-1 Place Expansion. This opportunity can create tangible, positive change to physical activity levels within the town, increasing the physical and mental health of our local communities. We are excited to work alongside stakeholders and our locally trusted organisations to enable the people of Ipswich to begin, continue, or increase their physical activity journeys.”
Councillor John Cook, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Communities and Sport, said:
“We’re delighted that Ipswich has been recognised as one of the 53 Places going into Phase 1 of Sport England’s Place Expansion. Our ambition is to tackle the challenges and barriers preventing people from getting active. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Sport England to create opportunities for children and young people, highlight the importance of physical activity and wellbeing, and pave the way for even more ways for people to stay active and healthy.”
Cllr Steve Wiles, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection at Suffolk County Council said:
“I welcome Suffolk’s involvement in Sport England’s Place Programme and I am really pleased to support this initiative. Inactivity is a major public health issue with a significant proportion of the population at risk of disease from not doing enough physical activity. I’m very aware that real and sustained change only happens when organisations and communities work together, so adopting a place-based approach to supporting people to be active is a positive move.”
Professor Valerie Gladwell, Director of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Suffolk said:
"The University of Suffolk is delighted to be a partner with Active Suffolk on this exciting county-wide project, providing expertise from the Institute of Health and Wellbeing. Our research explores the importance and impact of people being physically active and how the system around them can support better outcomes across the community."