Creating an Active Birmingham

Birmingham reports one of the lowest levels of physical activity in England. The Sport England Active Lives Survey indicates that just over a quarter of adults are inactive and do less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week. However, this figure is lower in Birmingham and lower still in black and Asian communities in the city. 

Birmingham City Council has been working with lots of organisations and individuals to develop a Draft Strategy for Physical Activity, Creating an Active Birmingham, which supports bringing people and organisations together to help more people in the city be active.

The strategy aims to address low levels of physical activity and focuses on developing opportunities for people to build physical activity into everyday life. The strategy complements other programmes of work in place across the city, such as the Sports Strategy and Birmingham Transport Plan. Collectively these come together to ensure a whole system approach will be taken to helping residents be more active.

Birmingham will achieve this by focussing on five areas: 

• Active People 
• Active Society 
• Active Environment 
• Active System,
• Closing the Gap

The Public Health Physical Activity Team in the council will start consultation on the draft strategy with the public on the 20th November 2023 and the consultation will run for seven weeks until January 15th 2024.

Through this period, the council would like to hear from as many people in Birmingham as possible, whether that be citizens, strategic partners, or key agencies. All views on the approach are welcomed.

The council’s Physical Activity team will be meeting people in venues across the city asking people to look at the consultation on BeHeard, as well as promoting the consultation through a number of social media and communications routes.  

The questionnaire can be found on Birmingham BeHeard.

Councillor Mariam Khan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said:

This strategy sets out our vision for Birmingham to be an active city and how we will enable everyone to move more, creating a bolder, healthier city. The strategy provides a framework for collective action, working across a wide range of partners and communities, putting them at the heart of action.

For more information about the strategy, please contact Ph.physicalactivity@birmingham.gov.uk