Active Southend-on-Thames
Utilising blue spaces and encouraging activities on or near the water
Led by the Port of London Authority (PLA), Active Thames is a partnership programme promoting physical activity on the tidal Thames and nearby blue spaces.
The programme aims to enhance access and improve diversity and inclusion, among under-represented groups, such as encouraging activity organisers to provide opportunities for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Supported by Active Essex, Active Kent and Medway, London Sport, British Canoeing, British Rowing, RYA, Canal & River Trust and Thames Path National Trail, Active Thames promotes the development of watersports on the tidal Thames and inland waterways in London, Kent and Essex. Grants of up to £5,000 are available from the latest round of the Active Thames fund.
The Active Southend-on-Thames project is a new multi-agency approach to raising participation levels of Southend’s residents on or near the water’s edge. The project is multifaceted and is tackling the inequalities that prevent local people from accessing the water at the heart of it. In Southend, there is a varied offer of sports and activities which are currently available along the Thames, but we have unearthed an opportunity to build on these strengths to enable more people to access them. Workforce is stretched, so more training and qualification opportunities have been identified, with a focus on upskilling new and existing workforce to enable more participation on the Thames.
In October 2023, representatives from Active Essex, Southend-on-Sea City Council Leisure & Public Health (Find Your Active Southend), Southend-on-Sea City Council Sustainable Travel (Forward Motion), South Essex Homes, Trust Links, ATF, Blue Therapy Active, Lower Thames Rowing Club, Everyone Health, Southend’s Council For Voluntary Services, Active Life for a Healthier You and Southend School Sport Partnership came together to explore how we could best work in partnership to encourage more activity on the Thames.
It began with discussions around activities that are already taking place with a strong appetite, which included walking, beach yoga, sailing and rowing, RNLI, beach cleans, swimming and cold water dipping. Many successful projects are already running along the Thames, such as Blue Therapy Active, the Lower Thames Rowing Club and ATF but there are opportunities for more.
The group agreed to work on:
- Workforce development, including volunteer coach support
- Upskilling people in water safety to help overcome perceptions of danger
- Increasing the diversity of clubs
- Delivering an open day of activities to show what’s on offer
- Coordinate marketing and communications to promote activities and opportunities
Teaching people about water safety and in particular children and young people, so that they can enjoy blue spaces in Essex, not only raises awareness of drowning, but also highlights the benefits of water-based activities. The RNLI offered specialist training to enable organisations to deliver water safety messages and advice across Southend as part of the Active Southend-On-Thames, Essex Activate, Southend HAF and Active Essex workstreams. Active Essex worked closely with HAF providers to educate children and young people about how water safety is fundamental to saving lives in blue spaces.
There have been many successes from projects that have already taken place. Projects such as Yoga4All, Gone for a Swim and Everyone Health Pier Walks were free to attend, therefore they were able to engage more people as this barrier was removed. Blue spaces offered a new environment for certain activities such as Beach School Explorers and ATF Family Beach Days, and enabled families to discover a new area of coastline, as well as educate them on coastal environments.
One of the main challenges however was the weather, as this could impact whether or not the activity would go ahead. The first 4 ATF Family Beach Days needed to be postponed due to bad weather, and there was a worry that this would deter families from signing up at a later date. Accessibility to the beach for buggies and wheelchair users was an issue for Beach School Explorers and Gone for a Swim found it difficult to attract families from ethnic diverse backgrounds. Having a wider introduction to ethnic and minority groups, may help to attract more diversity.
