Sport England, using a tool called the Place Needs Classification (PNC), identified areas of priority around the country for their investment. Using this we learned Millbrook and Redbridge West, Thornhill and Weston are all areas of priority.
Sport England use Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) level definitions of places, as explained by the Office for National Statistics.
As there are three places across the city, the whole Local Authority area of Southampton is assigned as a priority place for place expansion work.
Place based working is embedded within each community so it’s been important to work in collaboration from the very beginning.
Relevant people and organisations were brought together in December 2023 to share ideas, interests and develop a steering group for Southampton.
The Steering Group includes….
This group has been instrumental in the first phase of collaboration. They’ve supported with insights from their networks and communities and offered advice and consultation.
In Southampton, many of the conversations have been about finding existing networks across the city. We’ve found brilliant networks and programmes already set up in some communities, where we can work to amplify their work.
Energise Me has a dedicated Place Development Lead, Lee Timothy, to help coordinate these groups and the investment. If you’d like to get involved in our Place based work, as an organisation or resident, please contact Lee.Timothy@energiseme.org
Community engagement
Community needs will be at the core of the next 12 months. This means speaking to local people to understand their physical activity needs and interests.
In Southampton a team of local young researchers are already onboard, recruited through LifeLab at the University of Southampton. They’ll be helping to answer questions like what would people like to do, where would they like to do it and what will help motivate them to keep going.
Activities for the community
Once we have further insight from the community we’ll be working with activity providers and community spaces to bring their suggestions to life.
Short bursts of activity will pop up across Thornhill, Millbrook and Redbridge West and Weston so people get the chance to experience the activities they have suggested. People will then feedback whether it works, needs adjusting or they need something else entirely. From there we can look at how to co-create sustainable, long lasting action.
Connection and Collaboration
As we review what the steering group looks like, there will still be lots of opportunities for people to get involved. An important part of this will be looking at how we connect the whole system together. The group will be looking at bringing the following types of people and organisations together;
Helping us tackle inactivity to boost health and happiness
