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Active England a success
The three-year Active England programme has been hailed a success, according to a report produced by social and economic regeneration consultants Hall Aitkin and Bearhunt.
The £95m project reached its target of getting almost one and half million people from traditionally hard to reach communities to take part in 241 sport and physical activity schemes being held countrywide.
Participants included 578,000 women and girls, 217,000 people from black and ethnic minority communities, 173,000 people who had been inactive for the previous 12 months and 665,000 people from deprived communities.
In addition, the programme — funded and managed by Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) — has successfully pulled in an additional £131m from other sources, while 77 per cent of the projects have established sustainable funding arrangements.
The schemes with the most impact were led by ‘outstanding people’, with outdoor and outreach activities attracting the most participants.
Judith Dean, Sport England’s director of communities, said: “Active England has brought sporting opportunities to nearly one and half million people — and the focus on sustainability has ensured that these projects will go on delivering for years to come.
“Learning from the best examples of partnership and innovative ways of working will help us to achieve our goal of getting one million people playing and enjoying more sport.”
Sanjay Dighe, chair of BIG’s England committee, added: “Across the country these projects have strived to make sport accessible to a diverse range of people, ensuring everyone in the community has the opportunity to enjoy physical exercise, while keeping fit and healthy.”