Backing next steps to being fit and healthy

Published: 6 April 2023

The image shows a cycleway at George Street, Newcstle.
Improved walking and cycling routes, such as this one at George Street, Newcastle, all contribute to people's fitness.

Walking the dog, cycling to work, or having the chance to play organised sport are all part of the proposed strategy to help residents be fitter and more active.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is preparing to consult on its updated Active Lifestyles Strategy for 2023-28.

Thinking includes not just the provision of high quality leisure facilities such as J2 and Kidsgrove Sports Centre, but spaces and opportunities for people to exercise in other ways.

Stephen Sweeney, Deputy Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said:

We know that being physically active helps health and mental wellbeing and brings benefits for young and old alike, whether it’s boosting schoolwork, or maintaining mobility in later years.

 

That’s why we have invested in traditional sports facilities as well as working with others to provide more opportunities across the borough, whether it’s a safe clean park to walk in, improved cycling routes, or supporting groups’ bids for external funding.

 

The council still has a strategy in place which has delivered many benefits, however people’s lifestyles have changed post-pandemic and we want to make sure that we’re still meeting residents’ needs.”

Recent successes under the strategy include delivery of:

  • the refurbishment and reopening of Kidsgrove sports centre;
  • the provision of a BMX pump track and 3G football pitches in Kidsgrove;
  • a new school swimming service after the previous operators withdrew;
  • funding for upgraded tennis courts;
  • upgraded J2 gym equipment and expansion of the Wellness Hub with specialist machines to support a range of health needs.

And as a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, the strategy also commits the council to help improve access to leisure opportunities for serving and former members of the Forces, and their families.

Figures from 2021 shows that across the Borough slightly more than a third of Year 6 pupils (36.7 per cent) are either classed as overweight or obese, while more than two-thirds of adults (69.2 per cent) are in the same categories.

Stephen Sweeney added:

Not only do people feel better for taking regular exercise, healthier people reduce the strain on the NHS and can reduce pollution by choosing an alternative to the car.

 

We know that some people find it difficult to take the first steps, so we want to work with others to create opportunities for people to be active every day, whether that’s something incidental like cycling to the shops, or accessing whatever exercise, activity, or sport they enjoy.”