Physical activity in Brighton & Hove 2022

This document was produced in April 2022.

This document provides a picture of activity levels in different demographic groups in the city as of May 2021. It also showcases some of the diverse opportunities available to ensure sport and exercise is accessible to all. This has led to the city being one of the most physically active local authorities in the country.

COVID-19 and lockdown have since led to changes in many peoples’ behaviour and attitudes towards physical activity. This is changing rapidly as the virus and response evolve.

The pandemic is more dangerous for older people, obese people and those with underlying health conditions. As this document shows, these are also people who are generally less active.

Sport England have regularly surveyed a sample of the national population and while there have been increases in some physical activity, sadly evidence shows existing inequalities have widened.

COVID-19 gave an opportunity for reflection and to change habits. The WHO (World Health Organisation) highlighted the importance of living a healthy lifestyle through regular physical activity, healthy eating and regular sleep routines. 

(source: World Health Organization. 2020. Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak – 18 March, 2020.)

There are undoubtedly benefits of regular physical activity in improving mental health.

(source:  Stubbs B., Vancampfort D., Rosenbaum S. An examination of the anxiolytic effects of exercise for people with anxiety and stress-related disorders: a meta-analysis. Psychiatr Res.2017;249:102–108. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.12.020.)

This renewed focus is a good time for tackling inactivity in our target groups.

Report authors

• Caroline Tudor
• Jan Sutherland
• Ryan Edwards
• Katie Cuming

List of contributors

• Henry McLaughlin - Active Sussex
• Roddy Crockett - Sustrans
• Sussex Cricket
• Albion in the Community
• Freedom Leisure
• South Downs

Brighton & Hove City Council

• Public Health team
• Healthy Lifestyles team
• Sports & Leisure team
• Community Engagement team
• Transport Policy & Strategy team
• Park Projects and Strategy team
• Transport Projects (School Travel team)
• Early Years team
• Communications team

Low levels of activity are now a serious public health issue associated with numerous health conditions including:

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Hypertension

Physical inactivity is responsible for one in six UK deaths (equal to smoking). There are significant inequalities between different demographic groups.

People who are a healthy weight and physically active are likely to have 20 years more of independent living than people who are overweight and inactive.

Source: University of Sheffield, Physical activity across the life course

Improved physical activity levels in the population can have a positive effect on:

• reducing air pollution
• disease prevention and management of ill health
• improving wellbeing
• community cohesion / combatting loneliness
• improving perception of safety
• increasing use of public space
• increasing sports participation

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) UK recommends the amount and type of physical activity people should be doing to be defined as 'physically active'.

There are three principles to the guidelines:

• build strength and improve balance – keep muscles, bones and joints strong
• be active – including moderate, vigorous and very vigorous activities
• minimise sedentary time – break up periods of inactivity

Aged 5 to 18

Aim for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity at least daily and include exercise that strengthens bones and muscles.

Aged 19 to 64

Aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. This can be in 10-minute blocks. Also try to do activities that improve muscle strength on at least two days per week.

Aged 65 and over

Aim for the same recommended activity as 19 to 64 year olds, but include exercises that improve balance and coordination.

How to stay physically active

There are lots of ways to be physically active:

• active living
• active travel
• active recreation
• active sports, including informal sports and organised sports

Source: PHE Health Matters

Inactivity

"Some is good but more is better" - Professor Chris Whitty (Chief Medical Officer)

Being inactive means doing less than 30 minutes of moderate activity a week.

Sport England found that 27.5% of the adult population in England are inactive (Active Lives Survey May 2020 to May 2021)

Inactivity can be broken down into three distinct behaviours:

• 9% of adults are missing intensity, usually partaking in just one lifestyle activity, for example a leisurely walk or cycle
• 2% of adults are not doing enough and only partake in some moderate activity
• 14% of adults are not doing any activity due to injury, disability or age

Tackling inactivity means creating awareness and influencing behaviour change.

Childhood and adolescence

Local knowledge tells us there are significant health inequalities due to high levels of deprivation in parts of the city.

A third of children aged 5 to 16 are doing less than 30 mins activity per day.

Young people and students

Brighton & Hove is known for having a young population, boosted by students.

Many young people live close to where they work and study allowing opportunity for active travel.

Working age adults (25 to 64 years)

A new group in this age band have been identified as commuting in and out of Brighton & Hove due to high living costs in the city.

The percentage of adults physically active is high in Brighton & Hove.

Older age adults (age 65+)

In deprived areas of the city, older people accumulate long term health conditions up to 15 years earlier.

66% of those aged 55 to 74 are physically active in Brighton & Hove, although this is higher than the national average for all adults in England.

How Brighton & Hove compares to national statistics

Brighton & Hove is the 19th highest in the country for percentage of physically active adults - out of 150 upper tier local authorities.

A significant proportion of people (around 1 in 4) are physically inactive.

65% of Brighton & Hove adults (aged 16+) are physically active at the recommended levels. (Active Lives Survey May 2020 to May 2021)

This is statistically higher than the South East (64%) and England (61%).

Brighton & Hove has the 19th highest percentage of active adults in England, compared to the Isle of Scilly (1st highest), Eden (2nd highest), Craven (3rd highest), Hammersmith and Fulham (4th highest) and Wandsworth (5th highest).

Brighton & Hove has the highest rate of physical activity compared to similar local authorities. However, 26% are inactive and 63,000 of adults are not meeting the recommended physical activity levels.

Source: Active Lives Survey

The Active Lives Survey estimates the percentage of physical active adults from a survey of 500 adults randomly sampled in Brighton & Hove.

The estimate is weighted to be representative of the Brighton & Hove population.

Children and young people in Brighton & Hove have similar levels of activity to England.

A third (33%) of children are estimated to be 'less active'. This is similar to England, based on data collected in the 2018 to 2019 academic year.

There has been no significant change in the data found compared to 2017 to 2018.

Source: Active Lives Survey, CYP 20/21 (ages 5-16), released December 2021. 348 respondents in Brighton & Hove.

Brighton & Hove

47% of children and young people are active (60 minutes a day across the week)

20% of children and young people are fairly active (average of 30 minutes a day, but not every day)

33% of children and young people are less active (less than 30 minutes a day)

England

47% of children and young people are active (60 minutes a day across the week)

24% of children and young people are fairly active (average of 30 minutes day, but not every day)

29% of children and young people are less active (less than 30 minutes day)

National inequalities in physical activity amongst childre and young people

Gender - girls (43%) less likely to be active than boys (51%)

Ethnic group - Asian (35%) and Black (34%) children the most likely to be less active

Family affluence - those from low affluence families the least likely to be active

Disability - children and young people with a disability or long-term health condition are less likely to be active

Local survey data shows around 1 in 6 young people aged 14 to 16 are physically active for at least an hour per day.

This is similar to the data shown for England. However, Brighton & Hove has the highest physical activity in the 14 to 16 age group when measured against similar local authorities.

Levels of physical activity drop with age, with 8 to 11 year olds being the most active age group.

Percentage of children and young people meeting recommended levels

According to the Safe and Well at School Survey (SAWSS) 2018:

• 31% of children aged 8 to 11 are meeting the recommended levels
• 24% of children aged 11 to 14 are meeting the recommended levels
• 16% of young people aged 14 to 16 are meeting the recommended levels

As well as older pupils, the following are significantly less likely to meet the recommendations (secondary SAWSS 2018):

• girls (16%) compared to boys (26%)
• those who have tried smoking (17%) compared to others (22%)
• pupils who are not happy (17%) compared to others (21%)
• LGB pupils (16%) compared to heterosexuals (22%)

The percentage of physically inactive adults varies across the city.

Less than 12% of adults in most of central Brighton's Middle Super Output Areas (MSOAs) are inactive.

In contrast over a quarter of adults in the MSOAs of Whitehawk, Bevendean and Hangleton are inactive. These represent the more deprived areas of the city.

The pattern of inactivity across Brighton & Hove's MSOAs appears to partially reflect the differing age groups across the city. With younger adults living in central Brighton whilst older residents live on the outskirts of the city.

However, data is not available by age-bands for age-standardisation.

Demographic groups significantly less active

65% of Brighton & Hove adults (aged 16 +) are physically active against:

• 66% of those aged 55 to 74
• 48% with a disability/long term illness
• 37% of those with 3 or more impairments*
• 53.8% of those who are long term unemployed*
• 52% of those with ethnic group Black, South Asian or Chinese*

*England has been used as a data source where local data was not available due to small samples. 61% of adults in England are physically active. It is worth noting that in Brighton & Hove, females were slightly more likely to be physically active than males.

Source: Active Lives Survey data November 2018 to November 2019 estimates for Brighton & Hove

A map of modelled estimates for physically inactive neighbourhoods.

Source: Active Sussex Insight mapping: modelled estimates at Lower Super Output Area level (2020 to 2021)

“While Brighton & Hove is one of the most active cities in the country, this can mask the significant pockets of inactivity at neighbourhood level.

By targeting support to include people in deprived areas, those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, and older people, we can give everyone the best chance to become and remain active.”

Sadie Mason MBE, CEO of Active Sussex

Analysis from the Active Lives Adult Survey shows that there are still inequalities in levels of activity by ethnic group.

Percentage of adults (16+) inactive by ethnic group:

• Mixed: 22%
• White other: 26%
• White British: 26%
• Chinese: 31%
• Other ethnic group: 32%
• Black: 33%
• Asian: 37%

Adults of Asian or Black ethnic group are most likely to be inactive.

Levels of physical activity when ethnic group intersects with social grade, gender and disability

Most active

• Mixed ethnic group and high social grade: 75%
• Mixed ethnic group and no disability: 74%
• White British and high social grade: 73%
• Mixed ethnic group and male: 73%
• All adults: 62%

Least active

• White British with a disability: 44%
• Chinese with a disability: 44%
• Asian with a disability: 43%
• Black with a disability: 34%

Source: Sport England

Participation rates (at least twice in the past 28 days) by ethnic group vary widely across different activities. For example 40% of adults of Black ethnic group walk for travel.

Walking for travel

• Black: 40%
• Mixed: 40%
• Asian: 36%
• White Other: 34%
• Chinese: 34%
• White British: 33%

Cycling for leisure

• White Other: 16%
• Mixed: 15%
• White British: 14%
• Asian: 10%
• Black: 10%
• Chinese: 10%

Football

• Asian: 8%
• Black: 8%
• Mixed: 8%
• White Other: 5%
• White British: 4%
• Chinese: 3%

Running

• Mixed: 21%
• White Other: 20%
• Chinese: 20%
• Black: 16%
• White British: 15%
• Asian: 15%

Source: Active Lives Survey Nov 2016 to 2018 (two years combined). Snapshot of activities presented.

According to local survey data, girls are significantly less likely to active travel to school particularly by bicycle.

Percentage of pupils cycling to school (SAWSS 2018)

Primary (Key Stage 2)

• Girls: 1.5%
• Boys: 3.9%

Secondary (Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4)

• Girls: 0.4%
• Boys: 4.7%

The method of travel to school is captured via the council run Hands Up Survey which had a 65% response rate for all schools in the city (2018 to 2019).

Percentage of pupils walking/scooting/cycling to school

• 67% of primary state school pupils
• 50% of secondary state school pupils
• 18% independent school pupils
• 6% SEN school pupils

Twice a year, more than 10,000 primary school children in the city take part in a national Walk to School campaign.

This promotes the benefits of being active and encourages families to walk, scoot and cycle to school.

Adults in Brighton & Hove are significantly more likely to active travel to work than the national average.

Cycling

Around a quarter of adults in Brighton & Hove cycle, at least once a month, much higher than the national average of 16% (2018 to 2019 data).

4.4% adults in Brighton & Hove cycle for travel at least three days a week, slightly higher than national average of 3.1% (2018 to 2019 data).

Walking

84% of adults in Brighton & Hove walk for any reason, at least once a week compared to the national average of 71% (2018 to 2019 data)

Over a third of Brighton & Hove adults walk for travel three days a week or more compared to national average of just under a quarter (2018 to 2019 data)

Source: PHE Fingertips, Physical Activity Profile (original data: Department for Transport; Active People Survey)

Active travel and age

Around the age of 50, the percentage of adults walking or cycling to work starts to fall even though the percentage of those working locally (within 2 kilometers of home) remains the same.

Percentage of adults working locally, and percentage who active travel to work

Source: NOMIS website travel to work data (2011)

Women in cities are less likely to cycle primarily due to safety concerns.

Lack of female cycling persists into adulthood with an estimated 73% of women in cities never riding a bike.

Twice as many men (24% of men, 12% of women) currently ride a bike at least once a week in cities.

Most women surveyed (77%) feel that cycling safety needs to be improved.

Source: 2017 Bike Life survey of 7,700 residents in seven cities in England (Brighton is not included but is taken to be a comparable city)

As of September 2020, there were nearly 150,000 subscribers to Brighton Bikeshare with a fleet of 600 bikes.

Brighton Bikeshare has nearly 1,000 stands at 77 hubs across the city with more to be added. Since COVID-19, many funded passes have been taken up by NHS workers, care workers and school staff, to enable them to travel to work.

A national survey of Bike Share users found that:

• gender split of bike share users is much more even (40% female, 58% male)
• six in ten bike share users said they were commuting. Bike share enables use of public transport. 23% use in conjunction with the bus, 35% in conjunction with the train
• just under half (46%) said the bike share scheme was the catalyst to cycling (again)

Ethnic group and age are also important factors affecting cycling rates as identified in the Active Lives Survey.

Parks and open spaces are an enabler of physical activity.

Outdoor activities showed a 3% rise in 2018 to 2019 against a decline of traditional or formal sports - Sport England.

"...parks and open spaces are the most highly used of public assets" - Brighton & Hove City Council's 2017 Open Spaces Strategy

Brighton & Hove has approximately:

• 147 parks including playing fields and green spaces,
• 3,000 allotments
• 53 playgrounds 
• a section of the South Downs National Park

Most are managed by the Council and supported by volunteers and Friends groups.

An estimated 18% of Brighton & Hove residents take a trip to the natural environment during a typical week for health/exercise. England also has the same percentage.

In 2018 to 2019 there was an average of 156 visits per person to the town/sea/countryside - almost twice that of the national average (90 visits).

88% of survey respondents use parks at least once a week.

31% use natural and semi-natural spaces, for example the South Downs, at least once a week.

Source: City Parks "Big Conversation" consultation 2016 of 3,642 people across city including hard to reach groups

There is a national upward trend in people aged 55 and over being more active. However only 42% of BME respondents regularly visit the natural environment against 69% of those who identify as White ethnicity.

Source: MENE survey over a decade

Participation in the city is higher than the national average

• 1.7 times higher cycling for travel
• 1.5 times higher for yoga
• 1.4 times higher for fitness classes
• 1.3 times higher for swimming
• 1.3 times higher for walking for travel
• 1.1 times higher for racket sports
• 1.1 times higher for running

Source: Active Lives Survey (November 2018 to 2019) participation at least twice in the last 28 days

There were 1.7 million visits across seven Freedom Leisure sites in Brighton & Hove in 2019.

For every 10 visits, approximately 3.5 were for swimming, 1.1 were for outdoor activities, 3.2 were for fitness and 2.2 were for dry activities.

In 2019 there were:

• 573,326 swimming visits
• 532,348 fitness visits
• 372,528 dry activity visits
• 184,152 outdoor activity visits

Facilities in Brighton & Hove are typical of England however the city has proportionally fewer grass pitches: 41% in Brighton & Hove compared to 55% nationally.

In 2016, the Brighton & Hove Playing Pitch Strategy proposed investment in artificial pitches to meet current and future demand particularly in the West of the city.

62% are satisfied with sport and leisure services in the city. Although certain groups are less satisfied, including those aged 55 or over, those with disabilities and those living in BN3 postcode.

Source: City Tracker Survey 2018

Facilities in Brighton & Hove by percentage

• grass pitches: 41%
• tennis courts: 18%
• sports halls: 10%
• studios: 8%
• health and fitness suits: 7%
• squash courts: 5%
• swimming pools: 5%
• artificial grass pitches: 4%
• golf courses: 1%
• indoor tennis centres: 1%

Source: Facilities in Brighton & Hove; Active Places Power, Sport England

Brighton & Hove has some major assets:

• a professional cricket club
• two rugby clubs, one of which is the oldest in the Country
• Premier League football
• a racecourse

The city has a good track record in hosting large scale sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup in 2015 at the Amex and will host the Women’s Euro Football Championships in 2021.

Case study: Brighton Marathon

This annual 26.2 mile running event started in 2010 and has provided many benefits to the city:

• Charitable fundraising (many local): 45% of runners raised funds in 2019 (5,175 finishers) in excess of £5 million
• Social benefits: 50% of runners were accompanied by at least 4 other people
• Community cohesion: 12% of finishers live within 10 miles of Brighton
• Raised visibility of the city: 11% of finishers had never been to Brighton before
• Contribution to the economy: Economic impact of Marathon runners on food/travel/accommodation/entertainment was £650,000
• Engagement across ability/age groups: Associated Mini Mile (children) and BM10K (shorter run) and new BM Ride (cycling event)

Spectating

Attending live sports can provide a sense of belonging that has a huge impact on wellbeing.

9% in Brighton & Hove attended a live sports event at least twice in the last year (lower than England 13%), for example matches and competitions, as well as watching friends and family compete (Active Lives Survey May 2020 to May 2021).

Many spectators are drawn to sporting events held on the seafront.

Club participation

Club participation can encourage more frequent physical activity, improve motivation and skill in sport.

A third of adults (32%) in Brighton & Hove participated as a club member at least twice in past 28 days (lover than England 37%) (Active Lives Survey May 2020 to May 2021).

Brighton Table Tennis club is successful in engaging people of all ages and those with learning and physical disabilities. It has 1,250 people participating weekly. 100 tables run in parks, schools, sheltered housing schemes, a homeless centre, sports centres and a psychiatric hospital.

Volunteering

12% of adults in Brighton & Hove volunteered at sporting events at least twice in the last year. These figures are also similar to England (13%) (Active Lives Survey 2018 to 2019).

Certain groups are less likely to volunteer in Brighton & Hove including hard-to-reach groups.

The 60 regular Healthwalk Leaders are vital to Brighton & Hove Healthwalks.

This page highlights some examples of how the city is working to increase physical activity.

Promoting activity within educational settings

Examples in early years settings are:

• council commissioned forest school training courses
• providing bikes, trikes and climbing frames in nurseries
• physical play sessions at children's centres

In schools:

• 67% of our schools have achieved a national School Games Mark award in recognition of physical activity provision in schools
• many schools participate in the Daily Mile with children running a mile at their own pace, outside in fresh air. 38 schools are Active Schools taking part in Daily Active challenges like the Daily Mile, A K in a day and Change for Life Clubs
• Cycle training "Bikeability" courses are run for school years 5 to 10, throughout the year

In our universities the offer is about getting inactive students involved in weekly exercise, reengaging back into sport by making it cheap and accessible plus most importantly peer led.

Campaigns and awareness raising

TAKEPART is an annual festival supported by over 70 activity providers (2019) promoting local opportunities for people to be active.

Targeted participation programmes

The council helps manage the city's Healthwalks Scheme, providing 648 led walks a year.

We deliver of a range of targeted activities under the Active for Life programme, with over 50 weekly sessions all free or low cost. This also includes a targeted Active Forever programme, providing activities for those aged 5O plus.

Providing diverse opportunities in sport

Brighton & Hove is one of the few local authorities to provide Free Swimming to all children aged 4 to16 after school, on the weekends and in school holidays.

South East Dance is an arts charity aiming to get people from all walks of life actively involved in dance.

Albion in the Community deliver significant sports, education and community projects across the City using the power of football and the brand of the club to help local people get active, keep learning and stay well.

Sussex Cricket Foundation has enhanced the popularity of cricket by offering walking cricket programmes as well as sessions with the Royal Alex Children's Hospital.

Parkrun is a national initiative, including five free 5 kilometer runs across Brighton & Hove. Around 2,000 runners take part each Saturday. Some GP Parkrun practices participate.

Go Skate Project is a Skateboarding tuition programme for 11 to 16 years olds who are experiencing anxiety or depression.

The GoodGym in Brighton combines an organised run with a community good deed, for example gardening or painting.

BLAGSS (Brighton LGBTQ+ Sports Society) is a sports and social group that now has around 450 lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender members from Brighton and Hove, Sussex and beyond.

Promoting active travel

Brighton Bikeshare provides a total of 69 hubs across the city (mainly central locations) and 570 bikes to hire and pay as you go.

The council has a statutory duty to promote sustainable travel to schools, provide guidance to schools to update their School Travel Plan with small grants available and organise Walk to school campaigns.

The council promotes road safety for children and young people through year-round Bikeability training courses and road safety courses for Brighton & Hove schools. The council also provides scooter safety training (Scootability) and child pedestrian training.

The council promotes active travel to early years settings through Walking Week.

STARS is the national awards scheme established to recognise excellence in supporting active travel to early years settings.

Access to green and open spaces

The council has a right of way improvement plan for footpaths, trails, bridleways. It aims to remove barriers for those with mobility issues, visual impairments, pushchairs.

The National Lottery Fund awarded £3.75 million to the Stanmer Restoration Project which will help increase park-wide access for all.

In 2019, the South Downs National Park Local Plan was approved to enhance the landscape.

Funding for community projects

The Community Asset Transfer Model has handed tennis courts over to be run by clubs to encourage greater use. Similarly the R.M. Academy run football clubs on community pitches.

Council Communities Fund (2017 to 2020) provided various grants to Trans Can Sport, local gardening groups such as Moulsecoomb Forest Garden Project and The Grow Project, as well as Sussex Bears Wheelchair Basketball team.

Provision of good quality facilities

The council is continuing to invest in seafront development projects to make it more appealing to be active on the seafront, for example the proposed Sea Lanes outdoor swimming pool.

The creation of 3G (third generation turf) football pitches has been put in place to meet demand across the city and to allow play in all weathers.

There has been continued council investment into existing sports facilities, for example Withdean Sports Complex, as well as new facilities, for example the replacement of the King Alfred leisure centre.

Helping to make physical activity affordable

A range of discount cards are provided to city residents including the (AMAZE) Compass Card for young people with special educational needs. A Freedom Leisure card is available for residents claiming state benefits and a Carer's Card is available to support the wellbeing of those with caring responsibilities.