Cornwall is set to benefit from a share of Sport England’s £250 million investment nationally, designed to tackle inactivity and inequalities in the heart of communities by making sport, physical activity and movement accessible for everyone.
Sport England has today announced 27 new places across England, each new place being in the top 20% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality.
Evidence shows that physical activity and movement has a significant role to play in improving population health and wellbeing, contributing to economic prosperity and reconnecting communities, but so often people with the most to gain from being active are the least able to take part.
To tackle these stubborn inequalities and break down the systemic barriers that affect people’s ability to be physically active, 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, so that moving more becomes a natural part of how local people live, travel, work and play.
This investment follows Sport England’s announcement in March 2024 of 53 places nationwide included in phase 1 of their Place Expansion funding when they shared their ambition to expand this successful place-based partnership work, including in Cornwall where coastal and rural inequalities are so often masked by real affluence. Since then, as a strategic partner of Sport England, Active Cornwall has been convening local partners, facilitating collaboration, aligning resources and guiding this phase 2 Development Bid submission.
As Paul Critchley, CEO of Active Cornwall, explains: “Sport England recognise that by working collaboratively, local partners and communities can create the conditions for deep, sustainable change and improve people’s health and life outcomes. We’ve been working with our partners and communities over a number of years to better understand inactivity and inequality in Cornwall by exploring who it affects most, where it’s most concentrated and what can help shift the system to create opportunities to move more. We are thrilled that this ambitious Development Bid has been formally approved and our sincere thanks to those partners who have supported us in defining Cornwall’s approach to this exciting opportunity”.
This is a two-stage grant process, with this £362,085 Development Grant phase in 2025 laying the foundations for a Full Grant award application in 2026. Investment will initially target the St Austell and Penzance areas, priority places identified from local insight, data and intelligence and agreed at three partner events convened by Active Cornwall earlier this year in St Erme, St Austell and Penzance.
To tackle inactivity in Cornwall, people and organisations will come together to build a shared, community-led approach in the places that need it most. This means connecting local conversations, pooling insights, and sharing knowledge and resources to influence policy and support long-term change. The work will be shaped by local people, based on real insight, and flexible to each community’s unique needs. It will not be a short-term project, a single-issue initiative, or a traditional funding pot.
The 12-month Development Award centres around foundational work in six key areas:
- Community engagement and insight – understanding need and opportunity
- Leadership development – building place-based collaboration and system leadership
- Governance – strengthening strategic relationships in each place
- Evaluation and learning – designing local evaluation approaches
- Active environments – improving access to and use of spaces, built and natural
- Test & learn interventions – piloting new ideas that can scale
It’s not starting from scratch – it’s building on what already works in each community and working with local people to dig deeper into the complex barriers that stop residents from being active. This will support long-lasting, community-driven solutions that help more people move more, in ways that work for them.
Paul concludes: “We are already convening local partners across health, education, voluntary and public sectors to align goals and empower community leadership. Securing this Development Award is a critical stage in the process for enabling this wider investment opportunity for Cornwall and we can all now proceed with confidence together”.
about sports england
Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England – regardless of postcode, background or bank balance – to have the opportunity to get active. Tackling inequalities is at the heart of its 10-year strategy Uniting the Movement, with work focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.
about active cornwall
Active Cornwall’s vision is for a Cornwall where inequalities are no longer a barrier to an active life. They champion the benefits of incorporating movement into everyday life, focusing resources on those facing the most significant inequalities and sharing insights to influence policy and help integrate activity into education, healthcare and community life.
One of 43 independently constituted Active Partnerships across England working closely with a range of national partners, they support ‘Uniting the Movement’ for Sport England in Cornwall. In partnership with the NHS, Cornwall Council and local delivery partners, they commission and build capacity for physical activity for those who need it most. Engaging with communities and delivering national initiatives locally, they tackle barriers that prevent people from leading active healthy lives, targeting specific groups in priority places to drive positive change at scale, supporting those who need the most help to move more and live well for longer.
