Place-based working in Hastings

Enabling more people to take part in physical activity and sport can play a significant role in improving health and wellbeing. It can also create more connected communities and contribute towards economic prosperity. However, often those who might benefit most from being active find it harder to take part.

This work aims to deepen our understanding of the complex barriers that prevent people in Hastings from moving more, and how, through collaboration across health, social care, education, public, voluntary and private sectors, communities can help create the environment that enables people to move more, in the way that’s right for them.

At its heart, this work seeks to:

• Develop a deeper shared understanding of the needs of inactive residents in Hastings and ensure this is at the heart of decision-making.
• Develop shared leadership within communities and local system partners, to build on their strengths and drive long-term system change.
• Enable inclusive, community-led opportunities that are co-designed with those who face the greatest barriers.
• Strengthen skills and capacity that can support more people to take part in physical activity.
• Embed a continual learning and development approach that supports collaboration and innovation across sectors.

Hastings is a coastal town with a rich cultural history, a creative and resilient community and strong local pride, but a place which faces deep-rooted health and socio-economic challenges.

High levels of poverty, unemployment, and long-term illness, especially in specific neighbourhoods within Hastings, alongside its challenging topography and strained sport and leisure infrastructure, can make it harder for some people to be active.

• View inactivity maps to see how areas of Hastings compare to other parts of Sussex.
• Hastings ICT Data Pack
• Hastings Playing Pitch and Leisure Strategy

There are strong partnerships between local authority, public health, community safety, healthcare, and local groups working together to create positive change for people in Hastings. More than 170 organisations have been involved in the Active Hastings Partnership to support more people being physically active.

Sport England’s investment allows us to build on what’s already working, deepen understanding of why some people struggle to be more active, and work together to develop sustainable solutions.

Active Sussex, as system partners for Sport England, is the accountable body for the Development Award. In this role, we convene local partners,  and coordinate activities to lay the groundwork for a Full Award Application by the end of 2026. Our role will be to lead bid submissions, manage funding and oversee monitoring and evaluation of the work.

The purpose of the Development Award is to make sure that an application for Full Award investment is built around the local strengths and needs in Hastings. During the Development Award, we will be exploring the following key areas:

• Listening to communities: To understand needs and opportunities
• Systems leadership: Supporting local collaboration and shared leadership
• Governance: Strengthening relationships and collaboration
• Evaluation and Learning: Adopting a test-and-learn approach, where learning supports strategic planning and system change
• Explore ways to embed physical activity into health, social care support, and support healthy ageing.
• Supporting children and young people to shape positive opportunities to be active in their community, and inform system change.
• Places and spaces: Identifying opportunities to create more active places and spaces in Hastings

We are always keen to engage with organisations who wish to contribute to this initiative. If you would like to discuss getting involved, please contact our Place Lead below or you can join the Active Hastings Partnership -a local Community Physical Activity Network connecting local partners. To find out more about the Active Hastings Partnership, click here.