A healthy city

A collaborative endeavour to create a more active Birmingham

What is the big idea?

The Council’s Community Fund for physical activity provides an opportunity to promote the importance of physical activity and wellbeing and the huge legacy benefit they can provide to the city as we work to tackle inactivity and improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens. It is also an important opportunity to use the power of the Games to promote physical activity as a way for people and communities to connect, and to help highlight and begin to address the barriers that prevent people from becoming physically active. We are funding projects run by Sport Birmingham and The Active Wellbeing Society (amongst others) that will encourage people to participate in physical activity, enabling the inactive to become active by removing barriers to participation and encouraging the active to remain active.

What does this mean for me and my city?

There will be some exciting events taking place in 2022 that every person in Birmingham can participate in.

‘Community Games’ is a locally orientated programme of free sporting activities, for young people and families to enjoy across the city.

These programme of events are designed to inspire positive physical and mental health, giving you the chance to try activities and sports that you may not have heard of or had access to before by removing barriers such as cost and travel.

A ‘Sports for All’ programme will provide much needed support to local sports clubs, third sector and voluntary organisations in the city that already deliver sport and physical activity, particularly in areas of need.

The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) will deliver around 70 ‘Active Streets’ events during the Commonwealth Games period. For a period of time cars will be removed from the community and replaced with activities, engagement and neighbourly gatherings. We will build community capacity, social capital and connectivity at a neighbourhood and ward level by working with Street Lead volunteers to design, develop and deliver local interventions in collaboration with their community.

Through Project Brum, we will recruit 70 young people from priority areas across the city to support with the delivery of training, community consultations and Active Streets events.

What can be learnt from this to ensure it continues?

Building on these projects and as part of the Sport Strategy, the council will continue to work with partners and community groups to support projects that contribute to increased levels of physical and mental wellbeing. This could range from, providing support to organised sports clubs, to arranging more community events that encourage citizens to try out new sports and activities whilst giving them the opportunity to talk to new people and make new friends.