Active Environments

Football Foundation PlayZone Programme

The PlayZones Programme is led by Football Foundation and aims to engage with local communities to create outstanding, community lead sports and activity spaces that help tackle inequalities in participation. It is capital investment into multi-sport spaces which has been placed, designed, and led by community-needs.

In 2024 Castle point, Tendring and Basildon were invited to submit EOI as part of phase 3 of Playzone national programme, all 3 areas have subsequently been working with a consortium of local partners on local Playzone plans to ensure that the new facilities respond to local need and engages those who need it most.

Priority groups across the country face stubborn inequalities in activity levels and access to sports facilities and more needs to be done to stop this inequalities gap widening any further.

Who's it for?

Members of underrepresented groups

Prime Objective:

Help local communities overcome barriers to being active

Second Objective:

Bring people together in a safe community environment

The Football Foundation have been working with local councils as the lead partner for local Playzone programmes. But each local area has then formed a consortium of local partners/ locally trusted organisations with strong connections with local community to make sure that community consultation was gathered to make sure any planned facilities reflected local needs and desires.

Community engagement has been central to decision making and locally trusted organisations in the consortium have helped identify, talk to and listen to people of all ages who have fewer opportunities to be active.

partners involved within the core strategic planning group

sites identified in Basildon: Whitmore Park and Pitsea Central Open Space

95%

of residents think the development will increase activity levels

Whilst the football foundation offered to fund 75% of the project costs, the place has to commit to finding the remaining 25%. Whilst none of the local authorities found this to be unachievable, they have had lengthy processes timelines to get this match funding confirmed and this hasn’t been easy in the timeframe that they were given.

Community consultation often gave varied information and was hard to draw conclusive direction from. Further consultation had to be gathered to help reaffirm clearer understanding of what the best surface would be for each of the sites to make sure it would allow variety of sports to be played and that it reflected community requests as effectively as possible.

The exciting opportunity to bring 2 PlayZones to Basildon, offers local residents a chance to access physical activity in a safe and inclusive way whilst bringing communities together, all year round. With community engagement being pivotal to the creation of this project, to help design and establish the needs of what each PlayZone can bring. Active Essex looks forward to how these new facilities will decrease inactivity and increase activity across those groups facing the greatest inequalities

Stuart Tryhorn, Active Essex Assistant Relationship Manager