Place expansion continues with 27 new partnerships

We’ve launched a major expansion of our Place Partnerships, announcing 27 new locations across the country where we’ll work in the heart of communities to tackle high rates of inactivity.

Each of these places, which are listed below, ranks in the top 20% nationally for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality.

It’s the latest stage of our commitment to ending the ‘postcode lottery’ for physical activity – ensuring that where you live does not dictate how long you live, or the opportunities you have to be active.

We’re investing £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding into more than 90 places across England until 2028, delivering on the aims of our Uniting the Movement strategy and supporting the government’s wider goals of improving health, growing local economies, and building stronger, fairer communities.

Our chief executive Simon Hayes is in Blackpool today to see the work we’ve been doing in partnership with Move Together Blackpool over the last year to address inactivity, including low activity rates among children and young people.

"Sport and exercise are a fantastic way for people to connect with their communities," Simon said. "However, if you live in a less wealthy place, the less active you are.

"That’s why we focus our resources on places where they can have the most impact – so children and young people in lower-income areas like Blackpool have places to go and take part in sport and activity.

"Making exercise a normal part of life for everyone, all over the country, drives major social and economic value; active lifestyles save the health system £8 billion a year.

"If everybody can take part in sport and exercise – regardless of background, bank balance or postcode – we will all be healthier, wealthier and happier."

The 27 new Place Partnerships

This is the next wave of places where we'll be working with local organisations to create opportunities and tackle inactivity:

Place name	Active Partnership
Bassetlaw	Active Notts
Breckland	Active Norfolk
Cornwall	Active Cornwall
County Durham	RISE
Coventry	Think Active
East Staffordshire	Together Active
East Suffolk	Active Suffolk
Enfield	London Sport
Halton	Merseyside Sport Partnership
Hastings	Active Sussex
Havant	Energise Me Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Lambeth	London Sport
Leeds	Yorkshire Sport Foundation
Luton	Be Active (Bedfordshire)
Medway	Active Kent and Medway
Newcastle upon Tyne	RISE
Newham	London Sport
North Lincolnshire	Active Humber
Plymouth	Active Devon
Preston	Active Lancashire
Sheffield	Yorkshire Sport Foundation
Somerset	Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership
South Holland	Active Lincolnshire
Sunderland	RISE
Swale	Active Kent and Medway
Telford and Wrekin	Energize Shropshire and Telford and the Wrekin
Wakefield	Yorkshire Sport Foundation

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Blackpool: turning the tide on inequality and inactivity

The video is a series of talking heads, hearing from people in the Blackpool community, focusing on the work funding and support from Sport England has facilitated. The talking heads are cut between examples of that work being done, as well as scenic shots of Blackpool – set to mellow piano music. Text in italics is direct speech.

The video opens with a drone shot of the Blackpool tower, the beach, and the sea, with the sun rising.

Kate Aldridge, Blackpool Council

We’ve got an iconic tower, we’ve got three beautiful piers, miles of golden sand – but what we see behind that is a community that too often faces health and social inequalities.

The shot cuts to general views of the pier and waves lapping on the beach, before cutting back to the drone shot of the tower – this time looking inland, with the town in the background.

John Blackledge, Blackpool Council

Blackpool is unique and Blackpool is special. The background to that though, unfortunately, is many challenges in terms of deprivation and obviously poor health.

The video cuts to an outside shot of the North Pier entrance, focusing on the sign over the door, before switching to a talking head of John Blackledge.

The film cuts to a shot of a footpath sign, with ‘Playground, Sports Centre’ pointing in one direction and ‘Cricket Oval, Tennis Courts’ in the other direction, before cutting to a low shot of people playing football on an artificial pitch, an athletics track and then a scooter rider in a skate park.

Kate Aldridge, Blackpool Council

Sport England have really had us thinking differently about how we can deliver change.

So rather than thinking what can we as a local authority do? What can our partner organisations do? It’s become more, what can we as system leaders do together?

The film cuts to a general view of some tennis courts with a clock tower in the background, before cutting to Kate Aldridge as a talking head in an office.

Lucy Lavery, House of Wingz volunteer

House of Wingz has an amazing impact on the Blackpool community. It’s probably one of the only places in Blackpool that gives us the opportunity to have a safe space and to have these events.

The film cuts from Kate, to a rainbow flag with the House of Wingz logo in the centre of it, before cutting to a skateboarder dropping into a ramp in an indoor skate facility. Lucy claps as she overlooks another skater performing a trick off a small ramp. It now cuts to a talking head of Lucy, standing in front of a graffiti’s wall.

The voiceover switches to Aishley, and she’s pictured smiling with another woman, before the film cuts to a group of teenagers break dancing in a studio – including one boy spinning on his back, on the floor. The video then cuts to a talking head of Aishley, in the same position Lucy was earlier.

Aishley Bell-Docherty, House of Wingz

I absolutely think that the young people of Blackpool have got a space for their voices to be heard.

It’s something that’s very important to us as an organisation, to create platforms where they can share their voices.

Without funding, this wouldn’t exist because of the general narrative around what Blackpool is, often young people can kind of overlook that.

So, somewhere like here helps them to see there’s community, there’s connection, opportunities.

The film cuts to an establishing shot outside the Grange Park Youth Centre, with a large picture of a smiling young boy on the outside of the building. It then focuses on a sign in the door saying ‘The Boathouse Youth’, before cutting to a talking head of Danielle, whose standing in front of a multi-coloured, striped wall, which features photos and positive messages from Boathouse attendees.

Danielle Spencer, The Boathouse

It enables young people to have a safe place. It stops them being out on the street.

I used to think there was nothing here for me. And then I found The Boathouse, and I’m the centre manager of the Grange Park Centre.

The video cuts to a general view of young people using the gym including a rowing machine, treadmill and exercise bike, before cutting to a talking head of Harry, standing in front of the same wall as Danielle.

Harry Hepworth, The Boathouse

I had a bit of experience through bullying in school and mum said ‘I need somewhere safe for you to go’, so mum signed me up and I came through, made a load of new friends. If The Boathouse wasn’t here I don’t think I’d be the same person I was now.

The video cuts to more gym users, including a teenage boy using freeweights, before cutting back to the wall for a talking head with Sarah.

Sarah Lindsay, The Boathouse

The impact that Sport England has had in Blackpool has been incredible. We are incredibly proud of the progress that our young people make whilst attending our youth provision, and to be back in their communities delivering to the young people that they once were is just incredible.

The video cuts to an outside shot of illuminated lights, a glowing love heart, the Blackpool Tower lit up and a spinning ice cream cone outside Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It then cuts back to The Boathouse, with shots of young people again in the gym, instructors spotting them (including Josh) and helping them in the gym.

I think with Blackpool being a tourist town it’s very easy for people to develop and leave, whereas, actually, our model is to build an infrastructure where people want to stay. And stay working within those communities that they’ve grown up in.

The video cuts to a talking head of Josh in front of the wall, before cutting back to more shots of Josh instructing in the gym.

Josh Fowler, The Boathouse

I absolutely love sport, it’s like one of my favourite things to do. Mentally, it makes me feel just so happy with myself because I’m out doing something and being active. It just makes me feel really good.

And then physically I can feel the benefits every time.

Without Sport England, I wouldn’t be doing my course, which I’m currently doing.

I feel as if what The Boathouse did was not just provide me a pathway to get my level two qualification, do all the leadership stuff, but it’s also provided me with the pathway to grow as a person.

The video cuts back to the indoor skating facility, focusing on a skater performing a trick on a skateboard, showing just their feet and the board in shot, before cutting to Luke in the same setting as Lucy and Aishley earlier.

Luke Farricker, House of Wingz volunteer

House of Wingz is like a second family. The people I’ve met here have helped me grow so much as a person, given me so many good opportunities in the thing that I’m so passionate about, skateboarding.

The video cuts to a shot of Luke in the skate facility, enjoying skating with friends and fist-bumping another teenager, before the video cuts to a talking head of Lucie, standing on a balcony, overlooking an artificial pitch and other grass playing fields.

Lucie Unsworth, Sport England

Through this work, what we’re seeing is local people really rediscovering the pride in the place that they call home, and really starting to drive some of that long-term, lasting change in their places.

The film cuts back to the drone shot of the tower, with the town in the background, before fading to black and the white Sport England logo appearing in the centre of the screen.

Building lifelong habits

While our work in places aims to help local people of all ages to be active, we’re also highlighting the importance of starting with children. Our new research found:

over half a million children (one in 10) aged 12 to 17 say they don’t feel they belong where they live – that’s equivalent to the population of Bristol
almost one in five (close to 845,000) do not feel proud of where they live
among those who lack pride in their area, almost half (45%) say it’s because there is nowhere to go for young people, while four in 10 cite anti-social behaviour and worries about crime.

The research also points to a powerful solution: exercise and sport. When asked what gives them a sense of community (beyond friends and family), 56% of children and young people aged 12 to 17 (more than 2.8 million) said sports clubs and activity groups.

Our executive director of place, Lisa Dodd-Mayne, is also visiting Blackpool – where more than 150 cross-sector leaders and 20 youth participants are collaborating on the Move Together programme to break down silos, elevate young people’s voices and help residents move more.

She says that by supporting children and young people to be active, we can build healthier, happier communities for generations to come.

"Inactive children living in lower-income households are more likely to grow up into inactive adults, with more health issues and less happiness – and that’s a ticking timebomb for our country’s future," Lisa said.

"By working together with communities who know what’s best for them, we co-create opportunities to get active that local people and children want and need in the place they live.

"This can help inspire lifelong active habits in children and young people. Active children and young people are more likely to become active adults."

Tackling the root causes of inactivity

Access to exercise and sport is often dependent on where you live, with affluence and activity levels closely linked.

Over a third of people (34%) are inactive in England’s most deprived places, compared to 20% in the least deprived.

This creates a postcode lottery for physical activity, which can deepen health inequalities across the country. It isn’t just about exercise: it’s about opportunity, quality of life and life expectancy, which can vary by nine years depending on your postcode.

People who live in places of high social need often face barriers that make being active hard. The problems are different in every place, so the solutions must be too.

Our approach is therefore rooted in local collaboration. By partnering with local organisations – Active Partnerships, NHS trusts, councils, faith groups and sports clubs – we aim to create bespoke opportunities for people to get active, tailored to the unique needs and assets of each community.

From building activity into madrassahs in Bradford, embedding Active Design into housing plans in Exeter, to gentle dance classes for older people in Doncaster and football clubs for isolated men in Blackburn, the work is as varied as the communities themselves.

The 27 new places we're investing in

An animation that cycles through a list, shaped like a wheel, of the 27 new places Sport England is investing in as part of its second phase of place expansion work. The places are:

Bassetlaw
Breckland
Cornwall
County Durham
Coventry
East Staffordshire
East Suffolk
Enfield
Halton
Hastings
Havant
Lambeth
Leeds
Luton
Medway
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newham
North Lincolnshire
Plymouth
Preston
Sheffield
Somerset
South Holland
Sunderland
Swale
Telford and Wrekin
Wakefield

Alongside it there's a map and pin icon, with the pin bouncing up and down on the map.

The power of place-based working

We’ve been testing this community-based approach since 2018, with seven years of data showing it’s the most effective way to reduce inactivity.

In deprived communities in Bradford, children’s total physical activity increased by over 70 minutes a week thanks to a flagship programme.

In Greater Manchester, changes in local systems have led to activity levels for children and young people rising above the national average.

In Doncaster, the number of active adults has risen from 53% to 58% since 2015 – an increase of almost 17,000 people.

Tackling inactivity is also one of the best ways to boost national health and wealth, with our latest social value research showing that every £1 spent on community sport and exercise delivers £4.38 back for the economy and society in community cohesion, health and wellbeing, and employment and economic growth.

Our chair Chris Boardman said: "Health experts call exercise the ‘miracle cure’; it is fantastic for our health, happiness and economy.

"That’s why it’s vital that every adult and child can take part in sport and exercise.

"Our work in local places will help end the postcode lottery for physical activity – and get people active from the ground up."

Further reaction

Stephanie Peacock, Sports Minister

"Sport England's Place Partnership expansion is a vital step in supporting our government's goals to reduce inactivity and improve community health.

"We know that young people who participate in sport feel more connected to their communities, which is why we're backing young people to get active through our Let’s Move campaign and more than £400 million funding for grassroots facilities.

"We want to ensure every young person, no matter their background or the place they live, can get involved in sport and access quality facilities in their area."

Andy Taylor, CEO, Active Partnerships National Organisation

"Many of the Place Partnerships that Sport England is investing in are led by Active Partnerships from our network of 42 organisations. This is vital investment for places across England and our network will work with partners and communities, ensuring that it is used in the most effective way for each of the 27 recipient places.

"Every place is different, and as local experts and great connectors that are bringing real change from the ground up, Active Partnerships are engaging with key stakeholders, including voluntary organisations, health partners, local authorities, and communities, to support local people to be active in ways that work for them.

"Our Active Partnerships know from years of experience that sport and physical activity has the power to bring people together, creating stronger connections and thriving, more resilient communities. It can also help foster a sense of personal pride and achievement, as well as pride in the places where people live, work, and play."

Dr Guddi Singh, paediatrician, health campaigner and broadcaster

"As a paediatrician, I see every day that a child’s postcode can be a stronger predictor of their health than their genetic code. When local streets feel unsafe, there’s nowhere affordable to go, and young people don’t feel they belong, it shows up in their bodies and in their minds.

"If we care about the future of public health, we have to turn our thinking on its head: health isn’t built in hospitals, it’s built in homes, schools, streets and parks.

"That’s why this place-based investment from Sport England matters so much. It backs the communities where children actually live, learn and play – and gives them a real chance to move, connect and thrive."

Find out more

Our work in places