This summer, community events, active travel challenges, family activities in parks and along the coastline, have helped thousands of Greater Essex residents move more, more easily.
Coordinating the Sport England Place Partnership programme across Greater Essex, Active Essex works alongside local authorities, community organisations, residents and system partners to create the conditions for communities to thrive. While each Place Partnership is shaped by local insight, priorities and ambitions, they are all united by a shared commitment to create connected, accessible and vibrant places where people can be active as part of everyday life.
This place-based approach directly contributes to Active Essex’s Connected Places outcome, which focuses on strengthening communities, activating local assets and creating environments that make moving both easier and more appealing. By enabling local partnerships to respond to the unique strengths and challenges of their communities, the programme helps embed physical activity into neighbourhoods across Greater Essex in ways that are meaningful, sustainable and locally led.
Activating neighbourhood spaces for families and communities
Across Greater Essex, Place Partnerships are transforming local spaces into welcoming environments where families can be active, connect with others and enjoy their communities together.
In Thurrock, families have enjoyed a series of Big Lunch events bringing residents together through food, play, physical activity and local support services. The programme continues to grow, with over 5,000 residents attending five events in 2026, compared to just over 4,000 in 2025. This increase reflects growing demand for community-led opportunities and highlights the trust, relationships and local ownership that have developed over time.
In Harlow, Family Fun in the Park has continued to build momentum since it was first established through the Place Partnership Development Fund phase. What began as a pilot initiative has become an important part of the town’s offer, providing free opportunities for families to be active together in local parks and green spaces. The activation of local splash parks and the Lions on the Loose trail has further encouraged families to spend time outdoors, explore their neighbourhoods and discover new ways to be active together.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how activating neighbourhood spaces can strengthen community identity, encourage social connection and create regular opportunities for people to move more in the places where they live.
Encouraging active travel and everyday movement
Creating places that support walking, wheeling and cycling is a key part of helping people become active as part of everyday life.
Across Thurrock and Colchester, residents have been embracing Beat the Street, transforming everyday journeys into opportunities for exploration, adventure and movement. By encouraging families to walk, wheel and cycle more often, the programme supports active travel while helping residents discover more about their local area in a fun and engaging way.
Connecting residents to local opportunities
Being active does not always require new facilities or programmes. Across Greater Essex, Place Partnerships are helping residents discover and make the most of the spaces, places and opportunities on their doorstep, empowering people to move more in the environments they already know and use every day.
In both Thurrock and Harlow, the introduction of Find Your Active Here signs are helping residents discover activities, facilities and opportunities within their local area. By making information more visible and accessible, the initiative is helping people navigate local offers and take the first step towards becoming more active.
Since installation last month, the signs are already demonstrating early success with over 350 engagements so far. This is encouraging evidence that residents are engaging with the initiative and actively seeking opportunities to be active closer to home.
This simple but effective approach supports longer-term participation by connecting residents to year-round opportunities, reducing barriers to engagement and helping communities make the most of the activities available to them.
Making the most of local assets
Place-based working recognises that every community has unique strengths that can be used to support health, wellbeing and physical activity.
On Canvey Island, the Active Canvey on Thames programme has been bringing families together through a range of coastal activities including yoga, pilates, beach karate, beach explorers and open water sessions. The programme builds on the success of Active Southend on Thames, adapting a proven model to meet the needs, assets and opportunities of a new locality.
By making use of Canvey’s unique waterfront environment, the programme demonstrates how local assets can be activated to support physical activity, wellbeing and community connection. It also highlights how learning from one place can inform activity in another, creating a growing network of communities benefiting from place-based approaches across Greater Essex.
Alongside coastal assets, local parks, splash parks, community spaces and walking routes across Thurrock, Harlow and Colchester are also playing an important role in helping residents build stronger relationships with the places where they live while making physical activity more accessible and appealing.
Creating the Conditions for Communities to Thrive
While activities have been delivered across each locality, they all demonstrate the power of the Place Partnership approach. By bringing together residents, community organisations, local authorities and system partners, these initiatives are creating the conditions for people to be more active, more connected and healthier in the places where they live.
Across Greater Essex, local partners have worked collaboratively to build on community strengths, activate local spaces and create opportunities that make physical activity accessible, relevant and enjoyable for families. In doing so, they are helping to deliver Active Essex’s Conditions for Communities to Thrive, including collaboration, community-led action, leadership and the effective use of built and natural environments.
As communities continue to build on this momentum, these local successes are laying the foundations for long-term improvements in health, wellbeing and community resilience. By creating opportunities that are rooted in place and shaped by the people who live there, Place Partnerships across Greater Essex are helping more families to be active, connected and proud of where they live.
