An integrated approach to increase activity and wellbeing

The first time the importance of spatial planning in creating population-level increases in physical activity was articulated was through the You’ve Got This (YGT) programme – the Sport England-funded Place Partnership in South Tees.

Sport England has worked on different approaches to capacity and hosting when taking a place-based, whole-systems perspective to work and I'm happy to have contributed to the latest set of resources published by the organisation.

YGT adopted the socio-ecological approach to systemic change, where policy and the physical environment appear as key components of the wider determinants of health. 

These aspects are recognised as carrying a high weighting in this framework – difficult to influence but once achieved, the changes are highly impactful over the medium and long-term.

The need for cooperation and understanding

These considerations resulted in the creation of my role.

My post looks at improving collaboration between public health, transport planning, and planning departments across South Tees to promote health, well-being, and physical activity through the Local Plan, the wider policy framework, and innovative new programmes.

My job looks at improving the collaboration between public health, transport planning and planning departments across South Tees to promote physical activity through the Local Plan and the wider policy framework for local healthcare services in a number of community wards and venues across Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Hambleton and Richmondshire.

Previous attempts to enhance collaboration across South Tees had faltered due to time constraints and heavy workloads.

Recognising this, YGT facilitated initial meetings where urban planners, transport planners and public health practitioners could gather away from the office environment.

This process revealed issues such as a limited understanding of each other's roles and decision-making processes, alongside a shared commitment to creating healthier environments and a strong desire to collaborate.

Over the course of a year, three additional workshop sessions were convened to further explore these issues.

Simultaneously, through Sport England's partnership with the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), YGT established a new relationship with one of their experts, Gemma Hyde, who played a pivotal role in charting a path forward.

The culmination of these efforts brought together senior planners, transport planners and public health practitioners supported by Sport England, the TCPA and The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Despite initial slow progress, participants valued the time for reflection and identified key issues like capacity and staff training.

Collectively, it was agreed that there were specific challenges related to coordinating the work and addressing the need for knowledge and training among staff and elected members.

To support the process, YGT agreed to fund a position initially for a period of two years and that this role would encompass the whole of South Tees, with Middlesbrough Council (MC) serving as the employer.

This is where I join the story.

Reflecting on progress to date

My background as a behavioural scientist and public health spatial planner definitely came together on this project, as behavioural science studies the patterns, motivations, and factors that influence human behaviour across different contexts, using scientific methods to understand why people make the decisions they do and how behaviour can be modified or improved at individual and societal levels.

Our boroughs, MC and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) are currently at different stages of the Local Plan cycle.

In the emerging Local Plan for MC, I contributed to the Health and Wellbeing Policy and successfully secured an agreement to require Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) for all residential developments that exceed 100 dwellings.

I also devised an additional HIA screening process based on health and open-space ­deprivation on a ward-by-ward basis to be conducted for all major development across town.

There was also the completion of a Health in All Policies (HiAP) assessment of the emerging plan (Regulation 18).

Productive discussions with colleagues in RCBC have centred on the potential for a similar approach in the future review of the Local Plan.

I've also facilitated, with colleagues across public health and spatial planning and other stakeholders, the creation of MC’s first HIA toolkit, which has physical activity at its heart and taking as our primary model the well-respected HIA materials created by John Wilcox and colleagues at Wakefield City Council.

Public Health South Tees recently completed our Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs), to which I also contributed, ensuring that the JSNA is integrated into MC's emerging local plan for health and wellbeing policy.

Once adopted in late 2025 or early 2026, this will provide developers with clear baseline information about our communities and our priority goals for health and wellbeing across the borough.

Looking ahead

The foundational changes we're beginning to implement in South Tees represent a significant shift in how we integrate public health, planning and transport policies to promote physical activity and wellbeing.

However, we face significant challenges ahead.

We'll need to secure sustained funding beyond the post's initial two-year period, maintain momentum across different planning cycles between our boroughs and ensure consistent implementation of our new policies.

Looking to the future, our next steps of sharing best practices through Sport England's expansion process and deepening collaboration with the Tees Valley Combined Authority are crucial for scaling our innovations.

If we succeed, we could contribute to a new standard for how local authorities approach integrated planning for health and physical activity, potentially influencing national strategy and contributing to more active, healthier communities across England.