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KKP – supporting Coventry to produce the City’s Sport & Physical Activity Strategy

Picture - courtesy of the Coventry Observer

Coventry is the most central and ninth largest city in England with a population of 361,000.  Its growth particularly among younger adults, in part parallels the expansion and success of the city’s two universities and the increasing numbers of better-paid jobs in certain sectors of the local economy.

It is a ‘Marmot City’, which means that partners and the Council are taking a whole systems approach to tackling health inequalities and to creating and developing healthy, sustainable places and communities. This strategy will set out the role that physical activity and sport can play in helping to address this.

Coventry has performed well relative to national trends and comparable towns and cities. However, while the situation in the City has improved notably when comparing its Indices of Multiple Deprivation position in 2015 and 2019 it still ranks between the 64th and 81st most deprived local authority area (out of 317) in England and 28 (14%) of the City’s 195 neighbourhoods are amongst the most deprived 10% in England. Levels of inactivity, obesity and ill health are challenging, and it ranks particularly high for income deprivation affecting children and older people (IDACI and IDOPI).

The current Coventry Sports Strategy and its Physical Activity Framework “Coventry on the Move” both run to 2024. The City Council is keen to develop a new overarching strategy which encompasses both elements and has commissioned KKP to support this process.

The Council is (and will be) via its multi-partner Strategy Development Group (SDG) working closely with a range of agencies to create and deliver the strategy. These include, among others, the City’s Public Health Service, CV Life (which operates all its main sporting facilities and cultural venues), Think Active (the active partnership for Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire), the Positive Youth Foundation, the West Midlands Combined Authority and Sport England.

To initiate and inform the process, the SDG has collated and analysed national and local data. KKP will critique and build on this so that helps create a foundation for a robust strategy – one which will inform and drive physical activity and sport delivery, planning, accessibility and opportunity in the City over the next 5-10 years. Aligning to Sport England’s ‘Uniting the Movement’, the City Strategy will:

  • Set a strategic framework vision, aims and objectives which align with CCC corporate plans, local public health and physical activity policies and objectives.
  • Incorporate an action plan designed to ensure that impact is optimised – making a real difference tackling the City’s commitment to health inequalities in defined groups and in specific geographic areas.
  • Specify required actions, particularly in relation to key target groups, and recommended KPIs – in a five-year action plan, schedule and ‘road map’ and associated monitoring framework.

In addition to drawing on KKP’s substantial experience in this area of work, the process will optimise the value and knowledge acquired via the Company’s delivery of a range of strategic facilities and services planning assignments with/for Coventry.

Cllr Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport at Coventry City Council, said:

“We are delighted, with the support of Sport England, to be working with KKP on this strategy to build on the progress we’ve made over recent years. We are fully aware of the depth, breadth and quality of its work and welcome its support for our SDG, its review of what we do, where, why and how – and its delivery of the strategy consultation process in the City.

“This strategy isn’t just about sports facilities; it’s about making physical activity accessible for everyone in Coventry. By focusing on our communities and being smarter about where resources go, we can tackle health inequalities and make sure our city is moving forward together.”

Andrew Fawkes, principal consultant at KKP is leading KKP’s project team. He commented:

“It is great to be able to follow up our strategic facilities planning input in the City with this assignment. We shall be working closely with the SDG, Council and key agency staff and stakeholders to look at where and how its whole systems approach can be strengthened and analyse where and how resource can be best applied to deliver the physical activity and related health and social outcomes the City is looking for”.

Notes for editors

KKP is a specialist consultancy practice in the sport, physical activity, wellbeing and leisure field. Company sport/physical activity strategy clients include Westminster, Nottingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Preston, Bury and Coventry itself. Over the last four years, we have produced comparable strategies for Birmingham, LB Bromley, Bridgend, Blackpool, St Helens, Wyre and the States of Jersey.

Our team brings specific expertise referencing/absorbing wider strategic contexts, analysing and supporting whole system and place-based approaches to strategy and action plan development. This encompasses steering/working group support, consultation (individual/focus groups/workshops) plus, proactively and reactively, identifying, defining and refining strategic themes and goals.

Andrew Fawkes is available for interview. Please contact KKP via (0)161 764 7040 or email andrew.fawkes@kkp.co.uk

Full details about KKP’s work, clients and projects are available at www.kkp.co.uk