Agenda item

The Fit for Life strategy has been in place since June 2014 and runs until 2019. The B&NES active lifestyle team are attending the forum to ask members to share good ideas that exist locally, where these are working well these could then be replicated them in other places.

The active lifestyle team wishes to pull together local ideas and understand any barriers that are preventing participation.

Martin Pellow attended the forum to explain the Council approach following on from the Fit for Life Strategy.

Fit for Life is the approach from B&NES Council which is looking to understand the activities that residents are taking part in to become more active. The idea is that everyday activities will be seen as an opportunity to move more and sit down less.

Where good ideas already exist there is keenness to harvest these and replicate them in other places. These could be ideas such as park run where over 500 people have taken part and the good gym where people’s fitness is being developed and communities come together.

Activities that people stay motivated in are normally where behaviour change has taken place. The benefit of being more active sees improvement in physical movement and mental health.

Many of the resources that already exist and need to be recognised, this could be outside facilities such as public rights of way, parks and Bathscape.

Through the Forum the Active Leisure Team wishes to pull together local ideas, embed activity in people’s life and understand any barriers that prevent participation.

The refurbishment at the Sports Centre in Bath continues, the swimming pool will reopen around this summer. There are successes in the new gym, new spaces created for social activities and new the ten pin bowling area.

Questions and Comments:

Cllr Dine Romero – (i) What can be done to help with the cost of electric bikes? (ii) How can practical solutions for partnership schemes be brought into poorer communities?

Response – (i) The Council and other employers are part of a scheme that bike retailers in the area are signed up to. This scheme allows employees to purchase bikes tax free through their pay being deducted over a period of time. The message might need to be pushed again if awareness has dropped off.  (ii) Bath can be challenging but cycling is a good option once people become confident, the Two Tunnels route is an accessible way of enjoying a safe place to cycle.

Virginia Williamson – The Good Gym has been brilliant with communities at communicating their work, the funding they receive stops in August 2018.

Response – The funding was originally for a 3 year programme and was expanded by a further year, the success is down to the activators input.

Cllr Peter Turner – The BBC has run Britain's Fat Fight with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall programmes recently that has looked at the obesity problem, could ideas included be lifted from this? https://www.newcastlecan.com/home

Nicolette Boater – Strategies will have a number of barriers that will have to be overcome, two key ones are finding time to exercise and the drop off when girls enter their teenage years.  The BBC programme showed ways that small nudges can be used to get people to make more active choices such as footprints on the floor that lead to stairs rather than the escalator.

Where problems are picked up at a younger age it is easier to correct behaviours. If young people are driven everywhere this is damaging to their health, even a simple sign on a bus stop about getting active could help.

Response – The nudge effect can work and we are using tech in the form of fitness bands to get people to see the outcomes of the daily activity and act upon areas that could improve their activity. We are aware of the drop off in activity of teenage girls and we are working on options. 

Cllr Dine Romero – (i) Barriers to some people can be the cost of Gyms and Equipment (ii) The reduction in the school run is an area that could see better activity levels achieved (iii) What work is there to use Curo green spaces?

Response – (i) Building in fitness to your everyday lifestyle with simple measures is key when finances are not available. If we upgrade the quality of paths in areas such as parks using these areas becomes more attractive.

(ii) Schools do have travel plans that include the use of bus transportation. (iii) We have spoken with Curo and they do have space that we can make use of.