Brighton & Hove Physical Activity and Sport Strategy 2024 to 2034
"Welcome to Let’s Get Moving Brighton & Hove – a 10-year physical activity and sport strategy for Brighton & Hove.
In Brighton & Hove we are blessed with a unique opportunity to be active. A location that brings the sea and the South Downs to our doorsteps, a city where many people choose to walk, cycle and wheel actively around the city, and where a rich and diverse range of community sport, dance and leisure activities bring people together through movement. However for some people moving more can be challenging and some people told us that it can be difficult to identify and access opportunities within the City to be active.
Let’s Get Moving Brighton & Hove started with a conversation with local people about leading an active lifestyle in the city. Drawing on what people told us; the Strategy sets out a framework for collective action by organisations and communities in the city to best support people in the city to enjoy the benefits of moving more. It recognises how the experiences we have, the people around us, the activities and facilities in our communities, and the environments we live in, can all effect how active we are in our daily lives.
We want Brighton & Hove to be a place to live where everyone feels inspired, included and able to enjoy the benefits of moving more regardless of age, gender, race, ability, identity, background or circumstances and by doing so create a healthier, happier, and more sustainable future for our city.
By working together with our partners and communities in the city we want to make Brighton & Hove one of the most active cities in England – a place to live where people’s lives are enriched through movement.
I look forward to working with you to make that happen."
"There has never been a better time to be supporting people to enjoy the benefits of moving more. Being active is good for both our mental and physical health and reduces our risk of developing a number of health conditions.
People who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing many long-term (chronic) conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers. Research shows that physical activity can also boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress, clinical depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Physical inactivity is associated with 1 in 6 deaths in the UK and we want to change this for people in Brighton & Hove. A focus on prevention of ill-health and how to manage conditions well is at the heart of our work, and physical activity is fundamental to that, alongside smoking cessation, weight management and supporting mental wellbeing.
We will work with partners to support the health professionals across the city to promote the benefits of physical activity, to encourage people to become and stay active, and to support the ambitions set out in this strategy.
Working with our partners and local communities we can help people enjoy positive experiences of being active from an early age, ensure that people can easily find information and support in their community that will help them move more, and help people to improve their health and wellbeing together."
"As a strategic partner we are excited and have enjoyed the opportunity to contribute and help to shape Brighton & Hove’s 10-year Let’s Get Moving Strategy alongside other stakeholders across the city.
It is a challenging climate for local authorities and for many people in our community. The power of partnership working during times like these, is instrumental in driving forward key agendas.
We know that moving more isn’t just good for our health, it can help us to feel happier, to develop our skills and confidence, it can bring people together from different backgrounds, and help us enjoy spending time with family, friends, and people in our community.
These are all principles that Active Sussex support and fully aligns to our own Getting Sussex Moving Strategy and our goal to address inequality and empower everyone to be active in a way that works for them. We look forward to supporting the Let’s Get Moving Partnership and making this Strategy a reality!"
Our Vision is for Brighton & Hove to be a city where everyone has the opportunity, the encouragement, and the environment to move more, live well and be healthy.
To deliver our vision we want to make Brighton & Hove one of the nation’s most active cities, with each of us having the chance to move more in a way that we enjoy.
Five key areas of focus have been identified which provide a framework for the journey to becoming a more active city.
To ensure that moving more for healthy living is a central part of the culture of Brighton & Hove for everyone.
To develop opportunities that remove barriers and enable people to move more and remain active throughout their lives.
To empower local communities to influence and develop opportunities that enable more people to lead active lifestyles in the city
To ensure facilities, parks, open spaces and built environments offer safe, accessible spaces that encourage people to be more active
To improve knowledge, understanding and collaboration across the city to have the greatest impact on activity levels
Physical inactivity can have serious implications for people’s health.
Adding even small amounts of extra physical activity into our daily lives can have huge benefits to our health and wellbeing and impact on the quality of life of people in the city.
The greatest impact will come from identifying and addressing the barriers experienced by those who are least active and enabling them to move more each day.
Physical inactivity is associated with 1 in 6 deaths in the UK and is estimated to cost £7.4 billion annually. (including £0.9 billion to the NHS)
Regular physical activity reduces your risk of:
Being physically active helps many of the 19 million people in England living with long-term health conditions to manage their symptoms. Read the research from Sport England.
A RAND study found inactive workers lose more working days per year. They lose up to 4.5 more working days per year compared to those who are active.
Group sport and leisure activities bring us together to feel part of our community. They can help us develop social skills, increase self-esteem, reduce loneliness and provide job or volunteer opportunities.
Sport and physical activity is estimated to add £444 million in value each year to the city, through its contribution to health, wellbeing, social and community benefits.
Increasing cycling and walking for those able to do so can help improve air quality, combat climate change, improve health and well being, address inequalities and tackle congestion.
The benefits of moving more can be enjoyed by everyone. When starting, build up slowly. We can start gaining these benefits by building small amounts of physical activity into our daily lives.
It can be daunting for some people to have the confidence to move more, particularly if they are in pain or living with multiple long-term health conditions. However, research tells us that the benefits of being active far outweigh the risks for those living with symptoms of most long-term health conditions.
Whatever your starting point, all movement counts. It’s never too late to start enjoying the benefits of moving more.
We have summarised the guidelines below. You can also find out more about the Chief Medical Officer's physical activity guidelines.
Aim for at least 180 minutes per day, try to include activities that strengthen bones and muscles.
Under 1s should have at least 30 minutes of tummy time across the day
Try to do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity every day. Spread activity throughout the day.
Include activities to develop movement skills, and muscle and bone strength across the week. Minimise time being sedentary and break up periods of inactivity.
Disabled children and young people should try to do at least 20 minutes of physical activity a day to benefit their health.
At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. Try to include activities that improve muscle strength at least twice weekly.
Minimise sedentary time and break up periods of inactivity.
Disabled adults should also try to do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity.
Throughout pregnancy and after childbirth, advice varies depending on how active you were before.
It’s important to start gradually and listen to your body, eventually aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week and muscle strengthening activities twice a week.
Brighton & Hove ranks 17th for physical activity amongst adults in England. (Adults aged 19 and over, Active Lives Survey, November 2021 to 2022)
According to Sport England's Active Lives Survey (2021 to 2022) 7 out of 10 adults in the city are physically active, but nearly 1 in 5 adults do less than 30 minutes each week.
Less than half of children under 16 meet the recommended activity guidelines each day. 1 in 3 children do less than 30 minutes of physical activity each day.
Participation in the city is higher than the average in England in:
We know that some groups of people experience complex structural social and cultural barriers that make it harder for them to move more, these include:
There are also some areas of the city where more people face barriers to being active.
In some communities on the outskirts of the city - including Hangleton & Knoll, East Brighton and North Portslade - it is estimated that around 1 in 4 people are inactive. This is compared to around 1 in 10 living in more central areas.
The Strategy draws on the stories, experiences and views of over 800 people living and working in the city. Thank you to all the local residents, sports clubs, and local organisations who have shared feedback helping to inform this strategy.
Five key areas of focus form the framework for the city’s 10 year Physical Activity and Sport Strategy.
For each of these five areas we have identified actions to work on to increase activity levels in Brighton & Hove.
The areas of focus were drawn from community feedback during our Let’s Talk Active for Life consultation in 2022.
They were also informed by other relevant national, regional and local strategies that we list in Appendix A.
To ensure that moving more for healthy living is a central part of the culture of Brighton & Hove for everyone.
We want Brighton & Hove to be a city where people are inspired and supported to be active. A place where staying active is a visible part of daily life for everyone, and where the benefits of taking part in sport and physical activity are recognised and celebrated.
Above all, we want to foster an inclusive culture of active living that reflects the diversity of our city with welcoming, inclusive opportunities bringing people and communities together.
"Promotion of sport and exercise sometimes does not feel inclusive of people with different abilities."
Brighton & Hove hosted 46 sporting and wellbeing events between April 2022 and March 2023. These included internationally recognised cycling and running events, UEFA Women’s Euros 2022 events, and community festivals such as Dance Active, TAKEPART and Active Forever celebrating opportunities in the city.
To develop opportunities that remove barriers and enable people to move more and remain active throughout their lives
We want to make sure everyone has the best opportunity to lead an active lifestyle. We know that there can be a wide range of factors that can make it difficult for some people to move more.
By providing positive experiences at an early age, and ensuring the right support is available for those who find it harder to be active, we can empower people to enjoy the benefits of being active, for life.
People who were inactive told us that these things would help them move more:
Some groups felt less able to lead an active lifestyle in the city. These included:
Young people we spoke to wanted to see:
38 schools have achieved a national School Games Mark award in recognition of their commitment to provision of PE, school sport and physical activity (2022 to 2023)
To empower local communities to influence and develop opportunities that enable more people to lead active lifestyles in the city.
We want sport & physical activity to be at the heart of creating strong communities in our city. We want to use its power to help people to feel more connected to the places, and the people, in their community.
Hundreds of local sports clubs, and community activities in the city offer fun, social opportunities that help people to stay active and meet others. Supporting them to offer inclusive and sustainable sport and physical activities enables more people to take part and draw on the wider benefits which can help our residents and communities thrive.
“ Most of the activities classes for older adults assume you are not working - I really wanted to try them but I work full time. ”
46 workplaces were supported around physical activity at work as part of Brighton & Hove’s Workplace Health Charter in 2022 to 2023.
To ensure facilities, parks, open spaces and built environments offer safe, accessible spaces that encourage people to be more active.
By developing our city to best support people to walk, wheel and cycle, and ensuring there are modern, high-quality sports facilities in local communities, the places and spaces in the city will make being active an easy and attractive choice for everyone. We need to widen access to opportunities to be active in our parks, the South Downs and on the seafront to harness the unique potential of our city’s location and the benefits of being active outdoors and in nature.
People told us what could enable them to be more active in the city:
“ I don’t feel able to cycle into the town centre and leave my bike safely – I’m worried it will be stolen.”
Brighton & Hove has:
147 parks, 53 playgrounds, 3,000 allotments, 13,000 acres of City, 13km of seafront, the Downland Estate and a part of the Living Cost UNESCO World Biosphere region.
There are many opportunities to enjoy being outdoors, moving more and connecting with nature.
To improve knowledge, understanding and collaboration across the city to have the greatest impact on activity levels
What prevents us from being active can be complex and change throughout our lives. It can be through places we live and work, the people we meet or the experiences we have.
This means no single organisation, or initiative on its own will hold all the answers or enable everyone to be as active as they would like. To have the greatest reach and impact, we need to ensure people and organisations in the city work together as an active “system” to share experiences, develop skills and take action to best support people to move more.
Stakeholders felt there was a wide range of people and organisations working to support sport and active living.
They wanted to see more:
“It would be good to share what is working well and what is not so we can all learn together”
More than 50 city representatives from various organisations across the city came together at Brighton & Hove’s first Active Ageing Alliance event in September 2023 to discuss and plan how best to support people to live actively as they age.
The following principles will guide how we will work to best support people to move more in the city:
We will enable opportunities for people and organisations to work together to address the complex barriers that prevent people from moving more.
We will develop plans that reflect the important roles that education and learning, housing, employment, services, and our built and natural environments have in enabling people to move more.
We will strengthen the capacity of people in the city to play an active role in supporting people to move more.
We will work with local people to develop plans and services, and ensure these are guided by their experiences.
Through the delivery of strategy we will champion equality, celebrate diversity, promote inclusion and encourage others to do the same
We will use local data, feedback and evidence to understand impact and share what works
Let’s Get Moving is a 10 year strategy. It sets out our shared vision of a city where everyone has the opportunity, the encouragement, and the environment to move more, live well and be active for life.
We are establishing a new partnership group, to include key local stakeholders, that will be responsible for leading the delivery of the strategy.
We recognise that the financial climate is challenging but our strategy is a call to action for us all to play our part in creating a more active city. To think about how we can build more activity into our daily lives and how we can make it easier for other people to move more too.
To contact the Healthy Lifestyles Team:
You can also follow us on social media at:
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) recommends that everyone should move more often every day, emphasising the benefits for health and wellbeing for all age groups.
Guidance for physical activity includes aerobic and strength-based recommendations for children and adults, as well as specifically for people who are pregnant and people living with disabilities.
An evidence-based, national physical activity framework for England, setting a clear agenda for action to address physical inactivity.
It highlighted the impacts of inactivity on people of all ages and the need to address influences leading to the disproportionate impact of inactivity on vulnerable groups.
The strategy looks at how sport and physical activity can transform lives and communities. It focuses on five big issues:
The strategy has three core focus areas that recognise the reach of sport into local communities, and the opportunities to improve health, economic and social outcomes:
The action plan calls for a system approach to increasing physical activity, stating that there is no single policy solution.
It highlights that investing in policies to promote walking, cycling, sport, active recreation and play can contribute directly to achieving many of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Plan aims to support and encourage all schools to deliver a minimum of 2 hours’ PE time during the school day every week, alongside equal access to sports opportunities for all pupils.
It also seeks to widen the opportunities for children and young people to take part in extracurricular sports activities and to offer support schools to make best use of their facilities to support inactive pupils and the local community.
Sets out a vision that: Everyone in Brighton & Hove will have the best opportunity to live a healthy, happy and fulfilling life.
It includes a commitment to ‘More people will travel actively, and walking and cycling will be prioritised, benefitting physical and mental health’ to improve health and wellbeing in the city, and supports a focus on preventative action and addressing local health inequalities.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s latest council plan commits to working with local partners to develop plans that help people to be physically active and maintain a healthy weight.
Being physically active, particularly through active travel is a key contribution to achieving carbon neutral targets as highlighted through the Brighton & Hove Climate Assembly and to address the climate and biodiversity emergency.
The aim of the strategy is to put accessibility at the heart of how we design and deliver all our services and make it easier for everyone, particularly the elderly and the disabled, to get the council services they need and to be able to enjoy the city.
Provides a strategic approach to investment and development of public sports facilities to create outstanding facilities which support year-round healthy lifestyles and inclusion for all.
Reference the importance of a city that provides access to safe accessible and inclusive environments for walking and cycling, good access to public open space, and the need to safeguard and enhance access to sports facilities in the city.
Supports the integration of active and sustainable travel in everyday activities and movement, as well as longer distance journeys. One of the priority areas is to create safe and well-maintained streets and places that encourage and enable active travel.
Sets out an ambition for improving routes and areas in Brighton & Hove to ensure active travel (walking, wheeling, cycling) is the first choice for getting from A to B, supported by high quality infrastructure which makes active travel accessible, easy, welcoming, enjoyable and safe.
Outlines a vision for the future of the 12800 acres of rural estate in the South Downs National Park. It highlights the important contribution this area has in promoting health and supporting active living, and the need to improve access to maximise its potential benefits.
Highlights the importance of city parks and green spaces to support good health through active leisure, recreation, sport and play and connection with nature.
The plan seeks to improve access to facilities supporting active recreation, and work with community sports clubs and groups to improve management of council-owned sports assets.
View the Easy Read version of the Let's Get Moving: Brighton & Hove Physical Activity and Sport Strategy.