Across the county, we’ve seen first-hand how investing in people and relationships can unlock real, lasting change. Through the Local Delivery Pilot (LDP), North Essex have taken a different approach, moving away from short-term programmes and instead focusing on long-term, community-led solutions.
These roles were shaped by what communities told us they needed. By listening and learning alongside residents and partners, the LDP highlighted gaps around connection, visibility, and local capacity. Funding was therefore directed into roles that could sit within communities, building trust, strengthening relationships, and supporting people to lead change themselves.
As a result, LDP-funded roles have not only supported increased physical activity, but have strengthened the very fabric of our communities, building trust, confidence and local leadership.
As we move into the next phase, the focus is clear: sustaining and embedding these roles to deepen their impact, continuing to build community capacity, keeping residents at the heart of decision-making, and enabling long-term, community-led change.
Tendring: Driving Community-Led Change Through Local Leadership
In Tendring, a place where inequalities remain a challenge, these roles are rooted in a shared ambition, to empower communities, strengthen local assets, and ensure people can be active where they live.
The Social Media Marketing role is shining a light on the incredible work happening across Tendring, helping community groups share their stories, grow their reach, and build the confidence to sustain their impact. This is already leading to new opportunities, with Essex Pedal Power and CVST delivering seated cycling taster sessions in Clacton and Walton. Strong local interest at venues like Clacton Railway Club, Clacton Conservatives Club and Walton Community Forum is now helping to shape plans for ongoing, volunteer-led sessions.
At the heart of Harwich and Dovercourt, the Physical Activity Community Connector takes a person-centred approach, building trusted relationships, listening to residents, and shaping opportunities around what matters most to them. They explained:
“My regular presence in Harwich and Dovercourt has helped me become a trusted and familiar face in the community. People often recommend me when others are looking for physical activity opportunities, making it easier to build connections and support residents quickly and effectively.”
Working alongside this, the Physical Activity Project Worker ensures that the future of physical activity in Tendring is shaped with communities, not for them. By co-designing solutions with residents, this role is helping to create opportunities that reflect real lives and local ambitions, giving communities genuine ownership over what happens next.
Bringing this all together is the Community Sport and Activity Manager, a role that is driving forward Tendring’s new Sport and Activity Strategy. By connecting partners, aligning efforts and unlocking new opportunities, it marks a shift towards a more collaborative, place-based way of working, one where communities are not just part of the conversation, but leading the way.
Colchester: Embedding the ‘Communities Can’ Approach
In Colchester, the legacy of the LDP lives on through the continued growth of the ‘Communities Can’ approach, embedding asset-based community development across the system. At it’s core is a focus on strong partnerships, joined-up working and ensuring physical activity contributes to wider life outcomes, not just health alone.
The Colchester Borough Homes Activity Co-ordinator drives a collaborative, system-wide approach to increasing physical activity, using local knowledge and strong partnerships to reach communities most in need and connect activity to wider issues like wellbeing and inequality. This impact is already being seen, with Swimming for Wellbeing attracting consistent engagement from 50 residents since January, highlighting its value, and Chair Dance sessions expanding across schemes through initiatives like Age Well, Micro Gym, and new volunteer-led delivery at Elfreda.
Alongside this, the Communities & Partnerships Officer, Physical Activity Lead turns strategy into action, embedding physical activity across services and building strong links between communities and partners, enabling joined-up, community-led solutions with lasting impact.
Sustaining What Matters Most
Across Tendring and Colchester, these roles show that lasting change comes from investing in people, building trust, and putting communities at the heart of decision-making, not short-term programmes.
By embedding them for the long term, we can keep that momentum going, helping communities grow in confidence, strengthen local connections, and lead change in ways that truly reflect their needs and aspirations.
This goes beyond physical activity, and is about creating healthier, more connected and resilient communities where people feel empowered to thrive, with local people leading the way and shaping the future of their places.
Read more about Place Partnerships and the difference it’s making here.
