New £3.4million investment for physical activity in Kent

Efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of Kent residents have received a boost with a £3.4million grant to Kent Sport, the active partnership for Kent and Medway.

Funded largely by Sport England and KCC, with support from the county’s districts and Medway Council, the partnership is one of about 120 organisations working with Sport England to level up access to sport and physical activity across the country.

The latest funding is aimed at developing opportunities for Kent’s least-active residents to become involved in sport and physical activity, which is the principal aim of Sport England’s 10-year Uniting the Movement initiative.

All partner organisations were selected by Sport England due to their ability to influence change and improvement at the heart of the system they are a part of no matter how big or small. Kent Sport looks forward to collaborating with Sport England in support of Uniting the Movement at a more local level.

The new financial injection will enable Kent Sport to work with partner organisations and increase the opportunity for sports and other physical activities for groups who are currently missing out, including people with disabilities, those with long-term health conditions, culturally diverse communities and those from families on lower incomes.

Liz Davidson, Partnership Director at Kent Sport, said: “Kent Sport is committed to working with partners from across the county in support of getting more people, more active, more often.

“We absolutely recognise the need to focus our efforts where need is greatest and to deepen our relationships with those current and new partners best placed to help us tackle inequalities and encourage the least active to move more in their everyday lives.

“This investment will provide us with the longer-term financial security required to enable us to better support our communities and their recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our work will target the least active, including women, those with long-term health conditions, disabled people, people from ethnically diverse communities and those from lower socio-economic groups.”

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. We can only innovate and tackle inequalities effectively by thinking about long-term change; Uniting the Movement is a long-term vision, and our funding approach needs to reflect that. Changes to our funding model will help us achieve our goal, by making it easier for our partners to do what they need to do to level up and deliver.”