Castle Point Place Partnership

Castle Point was chosen as a new Place Partner due to its high levels of deprivation and poor health, particularly on Canvey Island. It’s the fourth most deprived local authority in Essex and there are extremely high levels of physical inactivity for children and young people, the highest in all of Essex. With a current population of 91,000, Castle Point and Canvey Island have many assets and strengths that offer clear opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of all communities, especially those that have the greatest need. This Place Partnership opportunity provides an extra dimension to all of the positive energy and plans for Castle Point and Canvey Island, with a clear line of sight to using physical activity to increase the health and wellbeing of families and communities in the 3 MSOA locations.

The request for the Castle Point Place Partnership Development Award is very much twin tracked. Firstly, there is a strong focus on Canvey Island where the worst of deprivation and physical inactivity exists, and where the 3 MSOAs that feature in the top 10% of the Place Needs Classification (PNC) are located. The second track is the system change and leadership development that this opportunity can influence across Castle Point. A wide range of regeneration initiatives can leave a long-term legacy by hardwiring physical activity into the priorities and budgets of all key system partners for Castle Point.

There is already a strong ‘island mentality’ on Canvey which exudes passion, pride, togetherness, and a community willingness to be bold and do things differently. Harnessing this passion will be a major priority for the Place Partnership so that Canvey Island becomes a place where the majority of the island population are active with good physical and mental health.

The proportionate element of the Place Partnership work in Castle Point will focus on areas of greatest need, particularly in increasing levels of physical activity and building the capacity of voluntary and community organisations in the most inactive and deprived areas. Castle Point’s strong voluntary and community sector of 300+ groups, is led by Castle Point Association of Voluntary Services (CAVS), and the presence of 18 locally trusted organisations identified by Active Essex, provide a strong foundation for expanding Place Partnerships and promoting community wellbeing through inclusive activities.

In addition, the health sector in Castle Point is well aligned to the vision and outcomes for Place Partnerships. Overseen by the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), the Castle Point and Rochford Health and Wellbeing strategy focuses on a place-based approach for health, with physical health as one of its four priorities. Other priorities which are strongly associated with physical activity are mental health, community resilience and ageing well.

There is already a provision of leisure facilities across Castle Point, as well as a wide range of green and blue spaces for residents to utilise, such as Hadleigh Country Park and Canvey Seafront. Castle Point Borough Council has a strong track record in the provision and management of sports and leisure centres, which are operated in-house by Castle Point Leisure. There are two leisure centres: Runnymede Leisure Centre on the mainland and Waterside Farm Leisure Centre on Canvey Island, as well as four community halls across the borough. Castle Point Borough Council works closely with Active Essex and is a Find Your Active lead partner. The future of public leisure is a live and active debate in Castle Point and will be part of the work of the Place Partnership to help shape the future of public leisure facilities in Castle Point to ensure they reflect the changes in local authorities and the needs of local communities.

As part of the initial ‘development phase’, work has taken place involving local stakeholders to jointly shape a programme of activities to increase levels of physical activity, movement, and sport. This included two key stakeholder events, a leadership course, ABCD-E training delivered by the Active Essex Foundation, and system mapping.

System leaders in Castle Point are committed to removing systemic barriers and embracing asset-based community development, to build resilient communities with high social trust. This approach will lead to positive health behaviours and experiences for children and young people, decreased health inequalities, and improved mental wellbeing. Addressing health, active travel, communication, and lifestyle barriers is essential, as well as utilising the area's physical assets like parks, leisure facilities and blue and green spaces. The Place Partnership will engage with various strategies and stakeholders to ensure comprehensive support and sustainable impact, ultimately increasing active citizenship and reducing demand for NHS services.

The buy-in at this early stage from the key system partners means there is a genuine energy to create system change and develop the local leadership capacity in Castle Point for physical activity to achieve wider outcomes for health, families, communities, and the local economy.

It was decided that the budget allocated will be used for capacity; including the appointment of a Physical Activity Place Navigator, leadership, networking, system mapping, and evaluation and insight, and in addition, piloting test and learn projects. There were exciting opportunities for residents, community groups and stakeholders to engage with and a co-design process will continue to ensure that the voices of residents remain at the heart of Place Partnerships. Additionally, training opportunities are set to expand, equipping individuals with the skills to lead and inspire others in the pursuit of a healthier, more dynamic community.

In light of Castle Point’s Place-Based Expansion Development Award, individuals, clubs and groups who can help get residents in Castle Point who experience inequalities to become more active, were encouraged to put forward their ideas for potential funding. This could be by starting up new activities or increasing the numbers attending existing activities, all with the aim of getting more people active.

The School Sport Partnership in Castle Point, with strong ties to Canvey Schools, plans to launch new projects for children and young people. They plan to build on existing projects such as Essex Pedal Power and Ready 4 Action (physical activity breakfast clubs). Additionally, Trust Links with support from the Canvey Big Local, plans to create a vibrant community hub at The Gunny, a landmark on Canvey Island and former WWII gun emplacement, with the Sport England Place Partnership focusing on helping the development to be conducive to physical activity. The King Georges Park activation involves refurbishing tennis courts, and Waterside Farm Skate Park will repurpose an adjacent building as an outreach space for clubs, activities, and coaching sessions for scooters, BMX, skateboards, and pop-up sports. This will all be encompassed by a new behaviour change campaign, targeting physically inactive people on Canvey Island.

A variety of approved test and learn projects across the borough, has ensured that there are inclusive and accessible opportunities available to key target audiences, as outlined in Sport England’s Place Partnerships project outcomes.

The investment for the development phase has provided the capacity and capability to develop a clear vision and common purpose for the Castle Point Place Partnership. It has developed a strong governance, system leadership and commitment to continue to drive Castle Point Place partnership work going forward. A robust diagnostic of the current Castle Point physical activity system has been conducted and valuable insights into the barriers, needs, and aspirations of the target inactive audiences has also been collected. Careful evaluation of test and learn projects has informed future investment decisions, and ongoing insight activities will support long-term evaluation of the impact on Sport England's outcomes.