• 53 new Places across England announced to tackle inequalities in activity levels
• Kingston upon Hull and North East Lincolnshire set to benefit
• Each new place is in the top 10% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality
The Humber area has received funding from Sport England to boost levels of physical activity among people living in the most deprived and inactive communities.
Kingston upon Hull and North East Lincolnshire are 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.
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 - to support people to play sport and get active.
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 Kingston-Upon-Hull and North East Lincolnshire.”
David Gent, CEO, at Active Humber, said: “It is wonderful news that the city of Kingston-Upon-Hull and the place of North East Lincolnshire are in round one of the Sport England Place based expansion.
“The potential investment into these two areas at a local level will support their ambitious community-based plans to increase physical activity and participation in sports.
“We at Active Humber look forward to playing our part with the two places alongside Sport England to transform the opportunity to be active at a community level.”
