Thurrock Place Partnership

Thurrock was chosen as a new Place Partner due to its significant wealth and health divide, with some areas seeing extremely high levels of deprivation and poor health. There is a reduced life expectancy in Thurrock, due to high levels of obesity, which is notably worse than both the East of England and England. With a current population of 175,000, Thurrock is a major player in regional growth for Essex, however it’s important to ensure that this growth benefits families and communities for the long term.

Thurrock Council is an ambitious local authority, working to a collective mission outlined in their ‘People, Place, Prosperity’ plan, which links in with the work of the Place Partnership. The proportionate element of the Place Partnership work in Thurrock 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. Thurrock’s strong voluntary and community sector of 345 groups is led by Thurrock CVS, and the presence of 42 locally trusted organisations identified by Active Essex, provide a strong foundation for expanding Place Partnerships and promoting community wellbeing through inclusive activities.

Active Essex manages the DfE Holiday Activity and Food programme (HAF), on behalf of Thurrock Council, working in partnership with Thurrock's Education team. Over the past 3 years, more than 3,000 local families been supported through 30+ clubs, which take place during the main school holidays. The target group for this programme is young people who are eligible for income related free school meals and often the families who are the hardest to engage for a local authority. Through the HAF programme and key delivery partners, Active Essex have been able to build trusted relationships with families, gained valuable insight and will be able to ensure that they have a voice in the Place Partnerships opportunity.

There is already a provision of leisure facilities across Thurrock, as well as a wide range of green and blue spaces for residents to utilise. Thurrock Community Leisure, known as Impulse Leisure, has recognised the pressures that the NHS are facing and are looking to support the public health priorities of improving population health outcomes, addressing inequalities and supporting broader social and economic development. Work towards these outcomes has already begun, and they have been delivering services at the heart of Thurrock communities using non-clinical settings, as well as carrying out at-home visits to actively combat social isolation. This will be further supported through the Place Partnerships opportunity.

The Place Partnership leadership team in Thurrock want this opportunity to create system change and leadership development, which will leave a long-term legacy of physical activity being hardwired into the priorities and budgets of all key system partners for Thurrock, especially the local authority, the ICS, and the CVS.

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 Thurrock 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, decreased health inequalities, and improved mental wellbeing. Addressing health, public transport, communication, and lifestyle barriers is essential, as well as utilising the area's physical assets like parks and leisure facilities. 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 talented leaders that prioritises the value of physical activity to achieve wider outcomes for health, families, communities, and the local economy.

It was decided that the development phase budget would support the appointment of a Physical Activity Navigator, leadership training, 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 co-design the process, ensuring that the voices of residents remained at the heart of Place Partnerships. Additionally, organisational capacity building was supported to equip organisations with the skills to lead and inspire others in the pursuit of a healthier, more dynamic community.

In light of Thurrock’s Place-Based Expansion Development Award, individuals, clubs and groups who can help get residents in Thurrock 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.

A variety of approved test and learn projects across Thurrock, has ensured that there are inclusive and accessible opportunities available to key target audiences, as outlined in Sport England’s Place Partnerships project outcomes. Predominantly projects were within target MSOA areas, but others plan to work wider throughout Thurrock to engage target demographics. All projects focus on decreasing inactivity, increasing activity, providing positive experiences for children and young people, and tacking inequalities. These test and learn projects present an opportunity to gain valuable learning, evaluation, and insight, which will support the full award submission.

The investment for the development phase has provided the capacity and capability to develop a clear vision and common purpose for the Thurrock Place Partnership. It has developed a strong governance, system leadership and commitment to continue to drive Thurrock Place partnership work going forward. A robust diagnostic of the current Thurrock 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. A further Place Partnership application was submitted to Sport England in March 2025, and if successful, will provide further funding for Thurrock until the end of March 2028.