- 27 new Places across England announced to tackle inequalities in activity levels
- Somerset Coast (Porlock to Burnham on Sea, including Bridgwater) set to benefit
- Each new place is in the top 20% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality
The Somerset Coastal strip through Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP), as lead body, has received funding from Sport England to boost levels of physical activity among those in greatest need, from the most inactive communities.
Somerset is among the 27 places set to benefit from a share of Sport England's £250million investment into the heart of communities across England, designed to tackle inactivity and inequalities by making sport, physical activity and movement accessible for everyone.
Sport England research calculates that active lifestyles save £8 billion a year for the healthcare system through illness prevention. This relieves some of the NHS burden, preventing more than 3.3 million cases of chronic health conditions a year – including 1.3m cases of depression, 900,000 cases of back pain and 700,000 cases of type 2 diabetes.
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.
To tackle these stubborn inequalities and break down barriers to a more active life, Sport England is taking a 'Place-based approach' - partnering with local organisations and leaders who understand both the specific needs of their communities and the local assets that are available - working with local people to support and understand their needs to play sport and get active.
In Somerset the initial award will be invested across the Coastal Strip to support a range of initiatives. A £230,000 development award will enable:
- The creation of a multi-agency Active Place Team in Bridgwater to provide relational support for families.
- Enhanced partnerships with primary care to strengthen self-management of long-term health conditions.
- A feasibility study exploring the development of a new public swimming pool in Minehead.
- Comprehensive local insight gathering to ensure community voices are fully considered and directly inform the development and direction of the programme.
- A two-day leadership programme in January designed to support and develop local coastal leaders and community organisations.
Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Sport England's Executive Director for Place, said:
"We want everyone, no matter where they live or who they are, to have the chance to be active and healthy. To do this, we're focusing on places, towns, cities, and communities, where people face the biggest challenges. We are proud to announce a further 27 new Sport England place partnerships, in every corner of the country, bringing the total number of places we are working with to more than 90. We are committed to working 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 Somerset."
Jane Knowles, SASP CEO, said:
"Through this partnership with Sport England, we have a real opportunity to work alongside our coastal communities to remove the barriers that prevent people from being active. We are grateful to Sport England for recognising the unique challenges faced by these communities and for investing in a place-based approach that values local insight and lived experience. We look forward to working closely with local partners, residents and our Locally Trusted Organisations to support people along the Somerset Coast to move more for their health and wellbeing, building activity and movement into our daily lives."
The Somerset Coastal Place Partnership is also inviting Locally Trusted Organisations (LTOs) to get involved. LTOs are community-rooted organisations that are trusted locally and work collaboratively to make a positive difference. Each participating LTO will receive pilot funding to support community consultation and ensure local voices shape future plans.
LTOs will join a network that builds skills and local capacity, strengthens community voice, connects local partners, and shares learning to enhance resilience and impact across the Somerset Coast. If you are interested, please email Jake Hannis at SASP on jhannis@sasp.co.uk