Designing places for movement: Wayne Hemingway MBE to headline the Active Sussex Conference

Creating healthier, more active communities starts with the places we live, work and connect.

This year’s Active Sussex Conference will explore how thoughtful design, strong partnerships and long‑term systems change can unlock more opportunities for people to move in their everyday lives.

Leading that conversation is internationally recognised designer, placemaker and social entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway MBE, whose keynote will challenge delegates to rethink how our towns and neighbourhoods can better support active living.

Wayne has long argued that good design should “improve lives”, and he believes one of the biggest missed opportunities lies in how we shape public space.

Reflecting on the towns and cities he has worked in, he notes that many of the most inviting, active environments were created generations ago.

“The Victorians bequeathed us amazing parks that were generous,” he explains. “They enable people to get outside, walk the dog, play with the kids, play ball games, have a picnic and more; all things we know genuinely make us happy.

 “But the greed around land values today means you very rarely get public space like you used to, and the generosity of spaces where you can get active.

 “Material and labour prices are also contributing to developers claiming that they need to maximise coverage of buildings to make development stack up.

 “It is time to legislate on land price uplift, on the provision of active public space and to further measure the price of not having place that encourage active lifestyles.”

This theme of intentional design runs throughout Wayne’s work. He points to London as a powerful example of a city that has consistently protected and connected its green and blue spaces.

Despite high land values, he says, London still enables active living on a daily basis.

“I have lived and worked here since 1979, and just about every day I go running to meetings, to meet the family, though I am still discovering London.

 “You can still discover new routes and link in green spaces and blue spaces – canals, parks, commons – they are absolutely everywhere.

 “You can link from one to the next to the next. You can go on a dog walk like you would in the countryside. And yet you are in one of the world’s major cities.”

He also highlights Stockton‑on‑Tees, where the council made the bold decision to demolish a shopping centre and create a new riverside park. For Wayne, this kind of bravery shows what happens when places prioritise wellbeing over consumption.

“Life isn’t always about spending money. People spend money when they are happy, and part of being happy is to be active, and to be outside and to be healthy. There is no point in having money if you are unhealthy and can’t spend it.”

Putting communities at the heart of placemaking

A central message of Wayne’s keynote will be the importance of designing with communities rather than for them. He believes that meaningful co‑design is not only possible, but essential if we want to create places that work for people who face the greatest barriers to being active.

“With modern digital tools and traditional face‑to‑face methods, there’s no excuse for not co‑designing with everybody,” he says. “Listening and acting on people’s needs is a skill in its own right, but it’s completely doable.”

This approach aligns closely with the conference’s focus on systems change — recognising that long‑term improvements in activity levels come from collaboration, shared insight and a willingness to rethink how places function.

The National Festival of Play: A catalyst for change

Delegates will also hear about a project HemingwayDesign (along with Creative Crawley) are attempting to launch in 2027, the National Festival of Play.

As the UK’s first national celebration of play, Wayne sees it as a powerful opportunity to spark pride, excitement and long‑term change.

“A festival creates positive noise and can leave a valuable legacy” he says. “By doing something that genuinely excites, that hits the zeitgeist it can kick start renewed pride in a place and stimulate people to want to be involved in future years, which will then start people thinking about the importance of play and what people can bring to that.

“It can be a catalyst for a domino effect both for active play across other towns and cities and a catalyst for regeneration and investment across other elements of a town.

“We have seen this with our other placemaking projects such as We Invented the Weekend in Salford, First Light in Lowestoft, The National Festival of Making in Blackburn and Dreamland in Margate.”

For Sussex, he believes the Festival of Play could be a catalyst for community‑driven ideas that reshape how children and families experience movement in their everyday environments.

Rethinking the everyday spaces that shape movement

Asked what single change he would make in every town to encourage more movement; Wayne returns to the idea of connection — helping people see what their place offers beyond the immediate high street and their home street.

“Well signposted human corridors (that also respect and enhance ecology) are really important: routes that feel safe, routes with water, greenery, trees, and shade,” he says.

“Wayfinding that shows you what’s on the periphery of the place you live or are visiting — countryside, parks, cycle tracks, places to go running, waterways.

“It is using that town centre as a fulcrum to make sure when people are there, they don’t just get back on the bus or back in the car, but that they see other places to get active and do things.”

He argues that many of the challenges we face today stem from design decisions made in the 1980s and 90s, when consumption overshadowed community.

“Greed came to the fore,” he says. “It all became about towns being just where you shop, and because shopping and consumption became talked about so much there was a generation who stopped playing sport so much and an increase in ill health that went with that.”

Looking ahead

Wayne’s keynote promises to be a compelling call to action for anyone involved in shaping local places, from councils and planners to health partners, schools and community organisations.

His message is clear: if we want healthier, more active communities, we must design environments that invite movement, celebrate play and reflect the needs of the people who use them.

The Active Sussex Conference will bring these ideas to life, offering delegates the chance to explore practical examples, share learning and consider how place‑based working can drive long‑term change across the county.

Tickets have now sold out for the Active Sussex Conference. However, a waiting list has been created. To add your name to the waiting list, click here.