Coventry has today been announced as a place partner by Sport England and is set to receive funding to boost levels of physical activity in communities with the greatest need.
Coventry is one of the 27 places set to benefit from a share of Sport England’s £250 million investment into the heart of communities across England. The fund is 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 1.3 million 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 - to support people to play sport and get active.
Councillor Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport at Coventry City Council, welcomes the news: “I’m delighted that Coventry has been chosen as one of just 27 places in the country to benefit from this important funding.
“Our mission here in Coventry is to get as many people as possible active – whether that’s through being part of a sports team, taking regular walks or even young children playing out with their friends – being active at any age significantly improves health outcomes.
“We’ve already made great progress, and I’m incredibly proud of the hard work delivered by the Council and all of our partners across the city of Coventry.
“Thanks to this funding from Sport England, we will now be able to build on that momentum and ensure even more people benefit from the power of physical activity.”
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 Coventry.”
Details of how the funding will be spent will be announced in the coming months.