One week left to have your say on physical activity and exercise in the Black Country

One week remains for Black Country residents to have their say on physical activity and exercise, and in particular to highlight the barriers that prevent them from being active.

Funded by Sport England, Active Black Country is leading the Black Country Moving project in partnership with the four Black Country Local Authorities and Local Council for Voluntary Services. Led by two community connectors, Suzy Street-Hall and Angela Harvey, Black Country Moving aims to develop an understanding of current levels of physical activity and wellbeing, with a particular focus on eight priority wards across the Black Country, with a view to developing projects, interventions and campaigns all to encourage people to people moving from getting outside for a walk through to attending a class at local community or sports centres.

Through responding to the survey – which takes just five minutes – residents can share their views, anonymously, on their physical activity levels, where they are active and what they consider physical activity as well as sharing the reasons that stop them from being active.

The Black Country Moving project will share the findings from the survey with organisations and individuals who can change and improve opportunities for people to be physically active to ensure councils, sports and leisure centres or clubs, providers of health and social care services and voluntary or community groups are working together to encourage physically active lifestyles across the Black Country.

Suzy Street-Hall and Angela Harvey Active Lifestyle Community Connector’s said:

We are seeking to get people active and moving more. To support this ambition we are trialling approaches across eight priority wards to develop a better understanding of resident needs in order to implement a community campaign to get people more active. We’d love you to complete our short survey to help us understand the barriers people face to being active and what we can do to encourage and support people to get out and about”

Ian Carey, Active Black Country Director said:

Our aim, through Active Black Country, is to encourage people to be active and to do that we need to know what activity people are already taking part in – particularly when more traditional team and venue-based sports are currently limited – and how we can work in partnership across the Black Country to create more opportunities for physical activity. The survey takes five minutes and it would be great if people were willing to share their views so we can continue to ensure being physically active is easily accessible across the Black Country.”

The eight priority wards, selected based on current activity data, include: Castle & Priory; Woodside, Netherton & St Andrews; Friar Park; Princes End; Birchills Leamore; Darlaston South, Bushbury South & Low Hill; Ettingshall.

This pilot project will seek to identify the role that all partners, organisations across communities can play in realising change and getting people more active. Identifying the barriers currently preventing people being active; from the perspective of local residents, community organisations and local statutory partners.

The survey is confidential and takes around five minutes to complete and closes on 8 March.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/activeblackcountry

The funding from Sport England is disseminated via the West Midlands Combined Authority.

ENDS