Many communities across Northumberland and Tyne & Wear face much greater inequalities than others – and we’re working to identify and support these communities using a ‘place based approach’ to be more physically active.
Adopting a place based approach can have a profound impact, creating conditions in places to tackle inequalities and make healthier living and an active life more accessible.
Why ‘place based’ approach?
A place based approach is community focused and led by the drive and insights of the people who live and work there.
The evidence tells us that the place where a person is born and lives can have a huge influence on how likely they are to be physically active.
By taking a place based approach we can better understand and then overcome the barriers that people are facing, using our knowledge and resources to level things up and help ensure everyone has access to activity.
Why Gateshead?
Sport England has committed to a transformative expansion of its place based partnerships, with an investment of £250 million over the next five years to engage with 80 new places.
Gateshead has been identified by Sport England as one of the 80 place based expansion areas in an initiative which is central to the ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy and aims to promote physical activity and address inequalities across England.
Across Gateshead there are areas which experience high levels of deprivation, health inequalities and have higher than average physical inactivity levels.
In September 2024, Rise successfully secured development award funding from Sport England to invest in Gateshead over an initial 18 month period.
Through working with partners, including but not limited too; the Local Authority, health, Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector the funding will be used to develop a deeper understanding and gain insight into the barriers that residents face within identified priority localities to becoming more physically active.
The areas which have been identified as priority localities by Sport England include:
- Dunston and Teams
- Felling
- Beacon Lough and Wrekenton
Contact
To find out more about how we support communities, contact Jade Scott, Strategic Lead for Place.